


Your name, my name, and everything in-between

by tatch



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amélie never became Widowmaker, Blood, Brainwashing, Canon-Typical Violence, Jack as Widowmaker, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rein's mothering skills, Talon!Jack, Talon!Reinhardt, naked butts, talon au, yup this is a tag now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-09-21 09:10:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9540986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatch/pseuds/tatch
Summary: Fifteen years ago, Jack Morrison and Reinhardt Wilhelm disappeared, Gérard Lacroix died and Overwatch was disbanded.Today, the assassin called Widowmaker is doing his job and waiting for pick-up after a rather uneventful execution.Things start unraveling from there.





	1. In which a sweet smile is all you need but umbrellas are nice too

**Author's Note:**

> My friend and I are currently doing an Overwatch rp and this is the result ^^
> 
> I'm writing for Jack and they're writing for Reinhardt.

 

**Fifteen years ago**

 

Reinhardt disappeared during a job for Lacroix. The mission should have been simple, a simple extract and retrieve, and yet. Half of the team had been massacred, the other half gone too far with their objective to make it in time back. There was the very distinctive lack of a giant German's body among the corpses.

 

Jack Morrison disappeared six months later. He had never quite stopped searching for his tall friend and following a hunch, took a team with him to investigate. If not for the one or two blurry shots taken by surveillance cameras,  it was as if Morrison and his team had never even been there, the transporter himself gone. Ana took the position in his absence, doing her best to balance responsibilities and the search parties, but in the end she had to delegate most of the search to Gabriel.

 

Jack Morrison was rescued two months later. He'd clearly been tortured and drugged, barely able to speak, shivering most of the time. It took him almost two week to recover, the spark of the man they'd once known clearly dulled by the events.

 

Everything started going sideways shortly after that.

 

Three weeks later, Gérard Lacroix was murdered in his own quarters, with no visible sign of trouble.

 

Two weeks later, Jack Morrison was kidnapped again, his quarters trashed in the process.

 

Three months later, Overwatch was disbanded, the loss of two of their Commanders in such a short time giving fuel to those who thought they were nothing but a bunch of no-goods, that they needed to be policed. Gabriel kept a couple of people by his side, to keep on fighting, but the other members scattered across the globe.

 

* * *

 

 

**Now**

 

76 smiled amusedly, unstraddling the cooling thighs, blood covering most of his front. He frowned as he stepped in front of the mirror, letting the blade clatter on the ground. Even his blond hair had been splattered. Damn, he was going to have to take a shower. He stepped inside the luxurious bathroom, yawning as he stretched under the hot water. He cleaned efficiently, scrubbing himself thoroughly before he stepped out and dried himself rapidly. He put his comm-link back into his ear, putting his outfit back on as he reported his success. 

"Widowmaker, reporting in. Mission accomplished."

 

Finally zipping the white hoodie up, he moved to the corridor, today's handler giving him details as to where he would meet his guardian. He locked the door with a do not disturb sign on it and a sweet smile to the receptionist and he was out. The air smelled like rain. He headed to the rendezvous point.

As he finally arrived, he saw a very tall, broad shouldered figure standing with an umbrella, since it already started to rain. The man looked both bored and annoyed with the place he was supposed to meet up 76. He was wearing a leather jacket and a simple scarf which hid half of his face. He turned around when he heard footsteps and looked at the approaching man in a hoodie with his remaining eye.

"You are late..."  he muttered very quietly, taking out of his pocket a set of keys for a car that was parked nearby. "How did it go?" Guardian asked, as he moved his umbrella over 76 to protect him from the rain. 76 liked the smell of rain and thunderstorms, but not the rain itself so the umbrella was appreciated.

 

The meeting point was located in the open actually. Near a very small, exclusive looking restaurant with dimmed lights inside which barely managed to shine through thick curtains. Nobody seemed to be inside the restaurant, so the only car parked in the parking lot had to belong to the brute. A very big SUV-like car. All black. 76 hummed as they moved to the SUV and he shrugged, crossing his arms, though he did wait for his guardian to get into the car too before he answered. "I got all dirty, had to take a shower."  76 looked at his partner with an amused smile, staring as he explained. Guardian wasn't very expressive so he had to search for the telltale signs.  "The usual. Seduced the mark, got the intel, killed the mark, got out and back."

 

He leaned backward, making himself comfortable as always, legs stretched over his guardian's thighs. He would end up curled on himself by the end of the trip but sprawled around was nice for now.  The man narrowed his eyes when just as he sat he felt a set of legs trying to get comfortable on him. He pushed them off gently and huffed in response. 76 huffed as his legs were pushed away and relocated them on the dashboard. "You sure are grumpy today." he teased.  After turning on the engine, Guardian leaned to reach the glove compartment and took out a small vial with some pills.

 

"Take it..." as always the guardian worried about 76. He worried so much that he usually carried with him some drugs that prevented any kind of transmitted disease to develop, since he didn't believe he would always remember to protect himself. It became a sort of ritual. Each mission that involved 76 and seduction had to be finished with Guardian feeding him medicine.

 

76 rolled his eyes as he was handed the pills as usual. He knew better than to try and not take them, his guardian being protective even when it wasn't necessary. 76 was pretty sure he couldn't get sick anyway, not with all the crap they injected him with almost weekly anyway. Guardian gestured for 76 to hurry up as he turned in his seat slightly to reverse the car. 76 took a couple of pills and put them in his mouth, crushing them between his molars in annoyance. He'd never caught as much as a cold for as long as he could remember so what was the point.

 

One massive hand resting on the driving wheel, the other one hugging the seat on which 76 sat so Guardian could see what was behind them. "Did you leave any traces?" he asked as they began their ride back to the base.  76's eyes narrowed dangerously and he hissed slowly at the question. A part of him knew that this was nothing more than the usual handling, but he felt like his guardian was pushing it today. A blade made its way into his hand, flipping around out of sight as he smiled, all sharp teeth and no sweetness, his tone low and dangerous as he replied. "I know how to do my job. Don't be insulting."

 

"I am not. Calm down" Guardian simply replied, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of them. When he had a moment, he pulled off his scarf and tossed it on the back seat of the SUV.  "We're going to the base, since they want you to actually rest..." he continued after a short pause, turning into a right street. The rain kept tapping on the roof of the car and the wipers worked their way through the waves of water cascading down the windscreen. "... two days."

 

"... That's new." 76 stashed the blade away, his eyes staring at the rain that poured down on the car, making everything darker, and yet, shinier. He was not seeing the landscape though, as his thoughts were far away, wondering what could have brought not one, but two days of rest. He was almost constantly working, his only days of rest being when the docs poked and prodded and cut him open. He blinked. "Did something happen?" Something must have happened. There was no way he was getting two full days of actual rest otherwise. 76 frowned. Or maybe the docs wanted to have for a longer time? He shuddered at the thought.

 

"I don't know. I'm being sent out on a mission though..." Guardian said quietly, driving into an underground parking lot in order to pass through a secret passage and drive outside of the city. "In the desert..." he continued, but did not explain any further. He was a quiet character after all. He also seemed completely indifferent to most of the decisions or events that occurred in his life.

 

"I made sure though you would be getting a proper rest. Without doctors and physical training... " he added after a long pause as he was driving through an orange illuminated tunnel, which made him look quite creepy. The shadows danced on his tired face, making him look even older than he actually was.

 

"Oh." 76 stayed silent. Guardian and him were often sent together, even though they had very different fields of expertise. The guardian was a force of nature, ploying through enemies with his axe and coming out unscathed thanks to his shield. 76 himself was more of an assassin, getting behind enemy lines and extracting information or people, ridding Talon of nuisances. He wasn't sure why the guardian and him worked together to be honest but he didn't question it either.  He felt sleepiness creep on him slowly, as always when he traveled by road and he shifted, setting his body into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes. The soft sway of the car lulled him to sleep.

 


	2. In which someone dies but who cares

 

When 76 woke up again, he was in his room, covered with a blanket and tucked nicely to sleep. Guardian had to carry him over from the car when they arrived- for sure. The man himself was no longer present in his room... probably gone to a training or his own quarter. The only thing that indicated he had been here was a plate with sandwiches. Of course Guardian bought them, not made them - the man could not cook even if his life depended on that.

 

76 poked the sandwiches and grimaced. He really wasn't hungry at the moment. He got up and went to one of the training grounds. The guardian wasn't there. Already bored, he started shooting targets. The earbuds prevented him from hearing anything and his mind went blank as he emptied clip after clip. It was only as he felt a hand on his shoulder that he came back to reality. He stilled.

 

Most people knew better than to touch Widowmaker if they hadn't been invited to. Word  spreads fast when you kill a higher-up for smacking your butt. Oh, he'd been punished afterwards but the satisfaction still danced in his veins when he thought about it. He smiled sweetly and turned toward the nuisance. There were three of them, the one touching him clearly leering.

 

"Yes?" 76 kept his voice inviting, slowly weaving his trap. The man swallowed, but not in fear, no, in excitation. Oh, this was going to be so easy. 

 

"You're Widowmaker, right? I'm a big fan!" The man sputtered. 

 

76 let his smile widen and moved a hand to the man's shoulder. He canted his hips, not much but just enough that all of their eyes went there. Amateurs. Faster than their mind could process, he then slashed that nuisance's throat, taking  a step to the side to avoid the splattering. 76 kept his grip on the man's shoulder, just long enough to clean his blade on a still unbloodied part of the uniform then, let the corpse fall on the ground. 

 

"Don't touch me." The other two ran, terrified, but he ignored them and went back to shooting targets, his mind going blank once more.

 

As 76 tried to go back to shooting, in the corner of his eye, he might have spotted his guardian. Guardian wasn't even phased by the sight of the bodies. He looked up at 76 and then back at the dead soldiers. He touched the intercom on the wall and called for cleanup, as he walked up to Widowmaker.

 

"...." He didn't say much. He just looked at 76 with a little bit of disapproval in his remaining eye. He looked a little bit messy. He had been training obviously. His hair was messed up, his shirt stuck to his body.

 

76 was trying to get back to that blank space inside his mind  but the giant looming presence hovering right at the edge of his field of view was really not helping. He abandoned after two clips, slowly putting the gun back down and looking at the disapproving face. He had no reason to explain himself and he passed a hand in his hair, looking at the corpse with an annoyed stare. As he brought his hand back down, he noticed that it was covered in blood. Fuck. Now he had blood in his hair. Again. Great. 

 

He walked away from the training ground and back to his room, feeling and hearing Guardian following him all the way back there. As soon as he was in the room, 76 took his hoodie off and after a sharp "what", made a beeline to the bathroom, taking his clothes off as he went, clearly unbothered by the guardian's presence at the door. He left the bathroom's door open though, so that he could still talk to Guardian while cleaning up. His head popped up one last time before he went to shower and he called out, smirking as he already knew the answer he'd receive. "Want to join maybe?" 

 

"I'm good for now" Guardian replied quietly. "76, it's the third time this month you attacked someone, and second which is fatal. At this tempo you're going to get punished more and more you idiot..." He said calmly, although loud enough to let his friend hear under the shower.

 

"If you can't keep it together, I will be forced to stay with you during every hour of the day... and I do not think it's what you wish for.." He closed his eyes and pushed his hair back. "You're good, but not a god of this place, so keep it together..."

 

His guardian still didn't get it, did he? 76 sighed, the lukewarm water running in his hair and finished cleaning silently. He then dried quickly and stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his shoulders. "I'm in control, Guardian." He walked to one of the two trunks which contained his uniforms, opened the left one, taking out a black outfit. It was the exact same as his white and blue outfit but in black and red, which meant a black hoodie, black turtleneck, black pair of pants and black and red gloves. The only difference between the two outfits was that instead of a pair of combats boots, he had a pair of dark knee-high armored boots, which 76 loved. 

 

He started getting dressed. "Because of the way I do my job, all that they" and he pointed at the door, including everyone but the two of them in that they "see is this." And 76 waved at his own mostly naked form, his voice a low distasteful hiss. He shook his head. "It's a bother. I kill a few to set an example. So that the rest knows, and fears me. Every time newbies show, I have to do it again." He pulled his pants up and worked on his beloved boots. "I could have killed them all. Easily. But I didn't." He stopped in his task and looked over at his guardian, annoyance flashing in his eyes as he stared him right in the eye before he went back to closing clasps and belts and zippers. "I shouldn't even have to bother with this." 

 

"I know how you feel... and I understand your thirst to set an example, but you can beat them up... or castrate them - would scare them for much... much longer" Guardian slowly raised his one eyebrow as he looked at 76 dealing with his shoes. "After all... it's more permanent..." he added in a hushed voice, cracking his knuckles idly as he thought about it. "Did you ever try that? Damage their pride, not kill?" He tilted his head slightly to the side and kept observing his companion.

 

76 stopped and turned slowly to the guardian, a sharp sharp smile blooming on his face. Taking their pride, heh? He liked that. "Always a pleasure talking to you, you have the prettiest ideas." He chuckled and put on his shirt. "You know me, I'm all about the kill. I don't usually do wounds." He stretched then leaned to get his hoodie up from the ground, putting it on as well. "Guess I'll make a few exceptions." 76 trotted back to his guardian, a slight mocking smile still dancing on his lips. The smile left when he remembered their previous conversation. "When are you leaving?"

 

Guardian's hand froze half way to 76's hair and he looked at him again "They didn't say, it's confidential.. I'm going to an old German city.. there's supposedly some activity connected with Overwatch... I'm going to investigate it and destroy it probably. They might be setting some sentries, or maybe just trying to bring back power.. I don't know..." He shrugged, his hand still above the man's head.

 

76 was very still. His guardian did that sometimes. The hand thing. He stayed still and the hand didn't move. Guardian had very big hands. "Wasn't Overwatch disbanded years ago?" His tone was blank, most of his focus on the hand hovering over there. Finally, 76 took a step back and turned on his heels, spotting the sandwiches. He walked to get the plate and turned back to Guardian, something uncertain flashing on his face. He moved back to the tall man, slowly. "Wish I could come with."

 

It really looked like Guardian wanted to pet his hair... but there was something preventing him from doing it. Sometimes he did manage however as if he was fighting some kind of a blockage in his own mind. His hand finally remembered the right gesture and he ruffled 76's hair very gently. "I know... but they thought it would be the best to send me alone for now. Something about you being too precious..." He added still gently petting the soft, but slightly wet hair.

 

76 sighed softly. It was ... soft? Warm? The word escaped him. He liked it. But he hated being touched. Unless he allowed it first. But he hadn't allowed it. And yet he liked it. The conflict played in his mind, rolling over and over. 76 hummed. "I'm more of a precision weapon. Not much use for mass destruction." He shrugged, tilted his head slightly, his eyes closing for some reason.

 

"Yeah..." Guardian finally ended petting his hair and for just a second he seemed to .. smile? But he quickly returned to his regular emotionless expression. "That's why I'm going to wreck havoc there... and when I'm gone, you must be on your best behaviour... " He ordered him quietly and nodded "It's for your own good.. you don't like doctors just as much as I... and I know you don't like the whole.. thing... procedure.. so be careful..."

 

76 looked down at the plate of sandwiches. He still wasn't hungry but he picked one and bit in it. It tasted like crap. "I will do my best not to kill anyone while you're gone." He munched mechanically, his body still but his mind agitated. The 'procedure' wasn't something he liked to think about. "Don't be gone too long."

 

Guardian nodded "Tops three days… I need to go pack and prepare... so rest in your room.. tomorrow is the first day of your little vacation.. so don't screw this up" He said as he walked back to the door and opened them. "I don't want to clean up after you after all... " He waved to him before he disappeared behind the automatic door.

 

As soon as Guardian was gone, 76 put the sandwiches back. He then laid down and tried to rest. Rest and don't screw up? Easier said than done.

 

76 was up before most people in the base. Most of the lights were still dimmed, meaning the sun wasn't up yet. He went to the training ground and shot targets until he could hear the telltale sound of the few loners that came to train early in the morning. He then went back to his room. He'd promised not to kill anyone, so avoiding everyone seemed like the best course of action. But what was he supposed to do now.

  
It took him six hours to sharpen all his knives and another to stash them all back where they belonged. He was vaguely hungry by then. 76 went to the mess, taking a small platter and narrowed his eyes when someone sat at his table. He nodded at the newcomer. It was one of the veterans, an older latino man who had a face and body covered in scars. 76 had actually worked with him more than a few times. He enjoyed the man's skills, both on jobs and in bed. Because there was a good point in being desired by most, and it's that he could get laid whenever he wanted. He tilted his head, staring at the man amusedly. The other caught up quickly, another reason why 76 liked him. The man raised a finger and 76 raised three in answer. The man nodded. 76 left.

 


	3. In which big warm hands are sometimes distracting and sometimes nice

**Two days later**

 

76 snapped awake, as usual. There was a warm body on his left, and another slightly warmer on his right. The third one, the veteran, was gone by now, knowing better than to stay after Widowmaker woke up. 76 smiled, indulging in the warmth for a bit longer. Guess he had found a way to both stay out of trouble and occupy his days off after all. He yawned, considering actually going back to sleep when there was a knock on the door. 

 

When 76 didn't answer, the door opened itself and the guardian appeared in the doorway. At first, he looked a little bit dumbfounded by what he saw, but soon a cold expression appeared on his face. Here and there he had bruises and scratches, patched up in a hurry. His whole right cheek was swollen and switched up, so now when anger appeared, the straight line wrinkled and twisted adjusting itself to his expression. He walked to the bed and grabbed the two people that laid there and he simply threw them away from the room as they came to this world - butt naked. He glared at 76 and huffed in anger, but didn't say anything, closing the door in case any of the "guests" started to voice their objections.

 

76 stretched, completely unconcerned by the fate of the two idiots. They had served their purpose and his days off were over. He got up and did not bother to search for his clothes. He went to his guardian, eyeing the wounds. "You got hurt. Did it go badly?" Not that he really believed the mission had failed, not when Guardian was part of it. He turned over and saw that the plate of sandwiches was now empty. Guess someone must have gotten hungry. He turned back to his guardian and yawned again. The night had been short.

 

"... No..." Guardian said, with a stone cold tone of voice. "I thought I asked you not to do it..." He said and pushed his hair back. Then his hand fell down onto his cheek to trace the itching stitches "... that woman, the sniper on the new Overwatch toddler team managed to do it... but I broke her leg..." He said in a totally emotionless voice and looked at 76's bed. For some reason... it made him furious so he walked closer to it, yanked all the bedding on the floor and walked to the intercom to call a cleaning lady to bring in a new set.

 

76 frowned and leaned against the wall. "I haven't killed anyone." He blinked a few times at the guardian's sudden outburst and turned to put on some clothes. He didn't understand why Guardian was so angry. He’d stayed out of trouble, no-one died and the mission went well. Well, except for the part where he'd got hurt. 76 shimmied into a pair of pants and tilted his head. "Why didn't you kill her?"

 

"She... " Guardian stopped suddenly and looked like he just overheated for a moment. He stared at the wall blankly and when he came back, he looked at 76 in a sort of weird way. There was something sad in his remaining eye.   "...." he swallowed quietly and said just one word, which of course meant nothing to anyone, but for him it was his whole world. He KNEW it was his actual name... but there was nothing behind it that he could remember. Just that one word 

 

"Reinhardt..."

 

76 stopped, then finished putting his shirt on. "What's a Reinhardt?" He was confused. Whatever a Reinhardt was, it made his guardian very emotional. 76 felt uneasy all of a sudden. He opened his mouth but then, someone came to clean the bed and, afterwards, he wasn't sure what he'd been about to say.

 

Guardian, or rather Rein still stood in his place even after the cleaning lady left in a hurry. He kept looking at the floor and, when he was sure they were all alone yet again, he spoke again "... my name."

 

76 stared at the guardian. "You have a name." He didn't like the idea of someone other than himself managing to get emotions out of his guardian. He clenched his jaw and looked away. But the next thought he had had him frown deeply. "How come someone from Overwatch knows your name?" There was an hint of accusation in his tone as he hissed the words, glaring back at the guardian.

 

"I have no clue... but I KNOW it was.. .is... my name" Rein said, breathing in slowly and putting his emotionless mask back on. "You can't use it though... I mean.. not around others.. if they know I know.. they will probably try and train me again... " He growled quietly as he sat down on the bed. Even with his neutral expression, there was something in his eye that suggested that maybe... he was happy to finally remember his name. To have something personal, that only belonged to him. Besides his axe and shield that was. 

 

"Maybe just a lucky guess? That hit the right string? I don't know... she might have stolen some data? Who knows..." He looked at 76 and realized he was mad. But why? He motioned him to sit down on the bed as well.

 

76 huffed angrily, passing his hand in his hair but grabbed his boots and went to sit on the newly made bed. He started putting them on, with sharp moves and annoyed pulls. He hissed again, low and dangerous. "Maybe. Or maybe they have agents in here." He was too pissed to focus right now, and needed to either shoot or kill something, and fast.

 

"That's impossible.. and you know that" Rein replied lazily as he scratched his beard slowly. Seeing 76's condition however, he waited for him to get ready and said "Let's get you to the training room..." He muttered, standing up slowly.

 

76 got up and opened his mouth, about to ask for more details but the door opened and a nurse walked in. They both froze and 76 tensed suddenly, anger washing out of him as it was replaced by the blank feeling that accompanied anything regarding the docs. "It's time for your check-up" He nodded tightly and went to the door, with a rapid look and an almost shy wiggling of his fingers to his guardian, before he followed her to the labs.

 

Rein frowned slightly of course noticing the other's behaviour. He hated letting 76 go for check-ups.. but he had no saying in it. He hissed quietly and lowered his head, still sitting on the bed. He just hoped they would find nothing wrong with him and they would let him go freely.

 

He went to the labs and his mind went completely blank once he was there, following instructions and doing as he was told, as they probed and poked and injected him until he was finally let out. 76's head was spinning as he went back to his room. He'd have the rest of the day off but someone had come to tell him he had a job planned in Paris the next day and that they were leaving at dawn. He fell headfirst into his bed, feeling sick and buried himself under the covers, shivering.

 

When 76 came back, Rein was still sitting on the bed and when he crashed down and hid under the covers, he sighed quietly and started rubbing his back with his hand. Kinda mechanically at first, but somehow it started to be more... sympathetic after a moment. He just stayed at his side for now in hopes he would come back to his senses soon.

 

Guardian's job was to .. take care of 76. At first, it was rather harsh way of doing things, but after a while, he started "mothering" him, even if he had no clue he was doing it. He kept people away from him if he could, he talked to him and tried to just generally be there for him. And protect him in a battle - obviously.

 

The warm hands at his back soon stopped the shivers, warming 76 back up to a speaking level. Fuck. He had not even noticed that his guardian was still there. He groaned weakly and rolled on his side, trying and sort of managing to open an eye to look up at Guardian. It was hard to think of the man in other terms. He swallowed thickly and grumbled out weakly. "Got a job tomorrow. Paris. We leave at dawn." It was hard to stay awake and 76 could feel sleep try to claim him.

  
Guardian just nodded and tucked him better "Sleep..." He ordered and stayed at his side until 76 fell asleep.

 


	4. In which sometimes only one word is enough to change everything. And sometimes it isn’t.

  
It was cold. And really really wet outside. There was nearly no light outside as the two figures waited on in the landing zone for their transporter. One really tall, stretching from side to side, wearing warm clothes that he would later switch for an armor he kept in a very large luggage. The other figure smaller, looking quite ready.

 

Guardian yawned loudly and scratched his beard that he just managed to trim in the morning. It was slightly uneven as always, resembling more a mane than a beard.

 

76 stretched with a yawn, leaning into his guardian's space as usual. He was wearing one of his black outfits, the boots bringing him comfort somehow. They finally got into the transporter, the first lights of dawn stretching over the horizon.

 

They got briefed as the transporter flew them to their destination. The mark would be attending some sort of ball in a fancy manor. 76 had an invite and Guardian would be joining as his bodyguard. Everything else would be up to them as usual. 76 took the file and studied his next prey. He chuckled. An Omnic. Oh, those were always fun to seduce. 

 

When Guardian heard it was going to be a fancy party, he really became agitated. It meant wearing a suit... and as always, they had them ready for their mission, but he hated them. He hated how he looked. He always got headaches during missions like that. Silent, he just eyed the guy who gave them a quick briefing and left the transporter before it took off.

 

Once alone, Rein groaned quietly and that was all he managed to voice for the rest of the ride. He crossed his arms and sat like that not speaking at all until they reached Paris. There, they were ordered to go to a hotel and pick up keys to their room. And change into suits. Guardian wanted to postpone that as much as he could. At the reception, he kept asking about the view, on the elevator, he pretended to press all the buttons by accident.

 

76's mind was still on the job and he hummed tonelessly, following his guardian mechanically. The streets of Paris were somewhat pretty even with all the mass of cars and people being obnoxiously loud. He blinked back to reality when he saw Guardian punch all the buttons of the elevator. He tilted his head slightly. "What are you doing?" He smirked as he recognized the expression. He almost wanted to laugh.

 

".. Nothing.." Guardian murmured in return, looking away quickly. He hated suits... anything that restrained his movement and made him look even taller than he was. "Taking some time to get there, obviously" he shrugged and took a better hold onto the two zipped up garment bags he had to hold. One for 76 and one for himself.

 

76 put a hand over his mouth to cover his smile and snorted. "Sure." The elevator eventually got them to their floor but not before Guardian scratched his neck five more times, looked at the defiling numbers eight more times and looked to the packed suits a grand number of absolutely no times. By then, 76 had to bite the inside of his cheek not to burst out laughing. There was a chuckle in his voice and a smile on his lips when he asked. "Did we get two rooms or one this time?"

 

"... one.. .and shut up.. I hear one laugh and I will end you" Guardian said in a cold tone as he took out a keycard to their room and swiped it. He pushed the door open and walked in looking around. One room which was actually two, separated with a adjustable wall. Pretty good. He tossed the bags on the bed and placed his and 76's luggage near the wardrobe.

"I can see you're smirking your ass off.. so stop.." he warned him as he stood with his back to 76. He had to change into that suit sooner or later.. and he really hated the sheer idea of it.

 

76 sat on the bed, bouncing a few times. The covers were so fluffy, he felt like could drown in them. He winced. He would probably sleep on the ground tonight. Well, if they did end up sleeping in here, which wasn't sure at all. He turned to look at Guardian. He wasn't feeling like changing yet so he stared at the scarred back instead. Some of those scars looked really old. Just how was his guardian. His hair was white but he was still more dangerous than most of the people 76 had ever faced. And it's not like he really had anyone to compare him to. 76 hummed, spacing out again.

 

When Rein changed into the suit, he was even more irritated. He kept trying to tie his tie in the mirror, but it just wasn't going to happen. He huffed angrily and tossed the tie away. He sat down on an armchair to tie his shoes. He looked up at 76 and frowned slightly " Get dressed... I won't dress you..." he warned him, as he stood up and examined his reflection in the mirror. He looked stunningly good, but still he hated the feel of this fancy outfit.

 

76 rolled his eyes but got up and stretched. "Relax, we still have three hours before the party." He took his own suit and put it on, testing the give and pockets. Everything was white, except for the shirt and the silk scarf, which were both of the same stark blue as his eyes. In turn, Guardian's suit was jet black with nothing white on it. Even his shirt was black and it all fitted him too damn well. His broad shoulders were even more visible and the "T" shaped silhouette was something to look at.    
  
76 undressed and started getting dressed again, stashing his blades all over his clothes. When he put the scarf on for the second time, almost an hour had passed. He looked himself over and nodded. It would do nicely. 76 then took Guardian's tie from the floor and after a second of thinking, threw it on the bed. Guardian wouldn't need it anyway. Bodyguards dress codes were different. He might get a few looks but the lack of tie shouldn't be an issue. He tilted his body toward his guardian, closing the last buttons of his jacket. "From now on, I'm Will Makers and you're my bodyguard. A one night stop on our way to China." He slipped into the persona as if it was a second skin, reminding them both of the briefing. He looked at himself again. Damn, even the shoes were white. "Shall we?" 

 

Guardian glanced at 76 as he was putting on a eyepatch he was required to, since his scar was considered "not professional". He huffed quietly and shrugged. "Right... Will Makers... I'm supposed to be Abraham Malloy, personal bodyguard with plenty of combat training.. " e fixed his pockets and made sure he had a pistol stuck behind his belt on his back. He also tied his hair into a small ponytail and groomed his beard slightly, so he looked more human and more presentable this way.  "Go on..." he motioned to the door and followed 76 outside.

 

Thankfully, the trip to the manor was short enough that 76 didn't even yawn. The place itself was big, and surrounded by acres of gardens. There was even some sort of bush labyrinth and some woods in the back. Rich people. 'Will' eyed the place. The security was tight but relaxed, with a lot of blind spots. The manor itself looked like a block of marble and windows and columns. 

 

They turned in the alley, coming in front of the door. 'Will' stepped out, a slight swagger in his steps as he walked to the door and presented his invitation. He received a small nod when it checked out and without turning, he waved at Guardian. "He's with me." The guards nodded again and let them pass. They were in.

 

Guardian looked around quickly, in search for any cameras, omnics or anything that could record the whole event. He found a few, but they seemed more focused on the main stage. Good. He warned Will about it with a slight tap on the shoulder, two times. He had to be sure 76 was aware of that. After that, they proceeded to a table with snacks, where Guardian took a plate and piled on some sandwiches. He was really hungry and the whole suit made him even more famished. 

 

"See our target?" he murmured as he tracked the movement of two omnic guards that were sort of idly patrolling a long hall which lead to the second part of the whole room. They looked.. indifferent, but Guardian knew pretty well that they were all about their sensors.

 

76 had looked for their target as they came in, but the omnic was nowhere in sight. He turned as one of the servers passed by and grabbed a glass of champagne, tilting back to Guardian as the man tapped his shoulder. Cameras. He nodded and went back to observing the compact crowd that was dancing a bit further away. It was hard to see beyond the first few meters. If their mark was in there... 'Will' sighed softly and turned back to his guardian, noting the big pile of sandwiches. "Stick to the sides." He dived into the crowd.

 

Dancing crowds had to be considered like battlefields. Each dancer was an enemy and his weapon was his body, twisting and twirling around, brushing here and there, avoiding contact beyond the clasps of arms and brush of hips. There weren't many Omnics dancing and the few he crossed path with weren't his target. Fuck. Suddenly, an arm clasped with his own and pulled him close. Golden brown eyes locked with his, their owner looking extremely surprised. "Jack?" The man looked kind of familiar and yet, 76 was absolutely certain he'd never met him before. He laughed, letting an amused smile come to his lips. "You must be mistaken. My name's Will." He shook his head. The stranger closed off and an apologetic smile wavered on that sun tanned face. A fake fake smile.

 

The man was just as fake as 'Will', shoulder length hair tied in a ponytail, a very recently trimmed beard and the twitches of someone that was clearly unused to wearing a suit. " 'm sorry. You just look like a friend of mine who disappeared a long time ago, 's all." A southern accent. 76 could almost picture the man tipping his hat at the end of his sentence and he had to blink a few times to push the thought away. He nodded and pulled away, feeling the stranger's grip trying to linger on his skin. "Sorry for your loss." 'Will' then started moving through the dancing crowd again, making his way to the second part of the room, the encounter already no more than a vague annoyance in his mind.

 

Guardian on the other hand, always cautious and aware of his surrounding noticed the whole encounter. He narrowed his eyes slowly and finished eating his sandwiches in peace. From now on, he didn't let his gaze of the weird tanned man. He looked... sort of familiar.. ever so slightly, but he pushed that thought down and for just a second, made sure he still could spot 76 in the crowd and somehow follow him in the shadow. He avoided two omnics on his way after 76 and brushed against a small circle of women who were clearly interested in the the tanned man. The kept whispering between each other and pointing discreetly towards him. What a strange herd.

 

Guardian moved past next two group and finally was at the same level as the tanned man... should he proceed after 76..or should he actually take care of him and not let him be an obstacle?

 

The next room did not contain a dancing floor, something 76 was grateful for. It was mostly people talking in couples or small groups, waiters passing with plates of drinks, bodyguards and guards hovering in the background and another table covered in food and more drinks. The room also had opening doors that lead to small balconies and, apparently, the garden. 'Will' went to the table to get a new drink but when he turned back to smoothly search for his prey, the first thing he saw was the southerner coming at him. Oh for fuck's sake. Couldn't that idiot take a clue or what. 76 didn't move however. It would only make his... stalker more determined.

 

The man came close, not event trying to hide that he was only there for 'Will'. 76 almost rolled his eyes and had to quash the urge to ...punch that guy? That was awfully specific. And new. 76 narrowed his eyes slightly. The stranger smirked. "Didn't have the time t' introduce m'self properly." He held a hand out. "I'm Jesse." 76 took a sip of champagne and shrugged. 'Jesse' let his hand up, rubbing his neck with the other one. Which was a prosthetic. "C'mon don't leave a guy hangin'." 76 sighed and turned back to the stranger, spotting his guardian hovering in the shadows nearby. "Whatever it is you want with me, I'm not interested." 'Jesse' 's expression darkened but before he could add anything, a voice sounded from behind 76. "Can't you tell that this man does not want to be involved with you?" Mechanized with the slight vibrance that energy brought, an Omnic' voice. 76 turned and surprise, surprise, there was his mark. 'Will' smiled, thankful for the save and played with the lobe of his ear, a simple indication to Guardian that he needed 'Jesse' removed.

 

Guardian frowned and huffed quietly when he spotted the signal. That was his cue. He stepped forward when the Omnic grabbed the attention of both men and he placed his massive hand on Jesse's shoulder. He forcefully lead him away "Sir, please this way. My boss does not want to be disturbed..." he said coldly, leading the young man towards the other side of the room and closer to a corridor where he knew would be some empty rooms. 

 

Without much trouble, he knocked him unconscious and tossed him into one of the empty rooms, locking it with a special card he had. After that, he went back to the main room where the Omnic was still speaking with 76.

 

"I am sorry that you had to suffer such inconvenience ... " said the tall Omnic and nodded his expressionless face "Can I somehow compensate for that?" he then tilted his head and fixed his nicely made suit which was very dark blue with golden thread.

 

"It's nothing really." 'Will' sighed, shaking his head tiredly. "I'm used to that kind of behaviour." The Omnic looked like he wanted to apologize further, maybe even go after Will's bodyguard, which wouldn't have been a good idea. 'Will' offered his arm, smiling thinly. "How would you feel about helping me forget this regrettable incident?" His prey agreed, seeming happy about the perspective. The mark seemed to be the type that would enjoy his mind more than his body so 76 kept his flirting to a minimum and let the word flow. 

 

Even though it was all fake, for 'Will', for tonight, it was real. Real enough for the Omnic to fall for it at least, and to accompany 'Will' to the garden, both their bodyguards remaining inside. Enough for trust to be there, the mark's movement no longer guarded. 76 hummed softly. Maybe it would rain again tonight. The heavy clouds covering the moon sure made it look like that, and the scent- "I hope your evening has become more agreeable." The Omnic's voice cut his train of thought. Right. 'Will' smiled warmly, slightly tilting his body toward the mark again. "It has, thanks to you." He let his smile fill with thankfulness and the Omnic turned his gaze to the sky. 76 smile stayed on even as he took an energy blade and slammed into his mark's forehead, killing the Omnic instantly. Mission accomplished.

 

76 placed the Omnic in a way that made it look as if he was still gazing at the moon and went back inside, with a few words to the Omnic guards that their boss wished for a moment of meditation. They nodded and 76 lazily returned to his guardian's side, looking relaxed and harmless, when he was all but. He brushed a hand on Guardian's forearm. "Let's go, or we'll miss our flight." A pointed look toward the garden and the guards and then he was moving again, still tranquil, still calm, careful not to attract any attention.

 

Guardian shifted slightly, rubbing his knuckles slowly "Everything went smooth?" he asked quietly as he followed slowly next to 76. He seemed a little less annoyed by the shirt, since he had undone two buttons under his neck. He breathed in and out deeply and scanned the area around them "Seems like it..." he answered his own question and allowed himself to grab 76's shoulder with his big arm and steer him away from the corridor, he knew he left the pesky cowboy at.

 

He guided 76 further away from the party and pushed a switch making all the cameras forget just few long minutes permanently. "Hurry up before they start recording yet again..." He warned him under his breath as they saw the exit towards the outside where they car was waiting for them.

 

76 almost hissed at being manhandled in another direction but instead put on a sweet smile, calmly thanking the valet that brought their car forth. He climbed on and they left, the car staying within limitations. It was only once they were out of sight and far enough from the house that he hissed at Guardian, his eyes narrowed in anger. "What was that. Why did you act so suspiciously? For fuck's sake, it's like you wanted us to get caught!" His voice was filled with anger and annoyance. 

 

Why the fuck had his guardian acted like they were badly trained spies. 76 pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling sharply a few times. This was why he usually worked alone on this type of mission. Get in, get out, make sure no-one remembers anything specific about you and make sure to be beyond suspicions. He curled on himself, glaring at the guardian. 

 

"Because they knew something. That cowboy, he acted so weird... for fuck's sake 76 I am here to protect your ass and not let you get recorded by those damned omnics..." The tall man seemed to be a little bit shaken by the whole situation. Strange. For sure he overheard part of the conversation 76 had with the other man... but why it made him so odd?

 

He pressed his lips into a thin line and ripped his eyepatch off "...fuck..." He squeezed the wheel harder and shook his head slightly "I have no clue...but I didn't like the situation..."

 

The cowboy? 76 frowned. "You mean the southerner?" He thought about the man. There had been something... odd about the stranger, something he couldn't quite place. 76's fingers twitched with the need to do something, even as his body grew still. "He... said something." He said slowly. His gaze looked away and he swallowed. He didn't know why but it made him feel.. weird, like there was a weight in his chest. "He called me Jack. Might have been nothing but... everything he did was fake. Except that." His anger had fell, as fast as it had risen, as always. 

 

Guardian glanced to the side at him and tossed him his eyepatch to occupy his hands. 76 felt the edges of the eyepatch, keeping his hands occupied. His guardian knew him too well. He smiled and looked outside. Were those rainclouds? He sure hoped so. "Jack? ... It... is weird...." Guardian muttered quietly, driving calmly through the city "....why he would do that? It was not someone who..." He paused realizing something. "Oh fuck..."

 

76 turned back at Guardian's cursing and raised a brow. "What." There didn't seem to be anything around them, well nothing that he could see from his spot anyway.

 

".... that guy might have been an undercover Overwatch agent..." the guardian murmured as he narrowed his eyes "... shit... not good..."

 

76 shrugged. "You got rid of him so it's no big deal." In the absence of any answer from his guardian, he turned fully to get a really good look at him, his hands fluttering over the eyepatch. ".... You didn't. Why?"

 

"... I knocked him down... really good and closed him in some room... I... don't know why I couldn't bring myself to kill him. I thought I was in a hurry..." the man said very slowly and glanced to 76. "... why... is a good question..."

 

76 considered. "Remember the Overwatch chick you told me about? The sniper." His hands clenched and unclenched around the eyepatch but his face was impassive. "You couldn't kill her either." 76 hummed. "Maybe he really was Overwatch." Which would mean a full report to their handlers. Great. 76's hands let go of the eyepatch and he looked away again.

 

"... " Guardian grumbled something under his breath and parked the car in front of a store " I need to get something... want to go inside with me?" The request was... odd? 76 blinked a few times but got out of the car and followed his guardian anyway. The store looked nothing special and there was only one other customer, hovering around the coffee machine that could be seen in the back.

 

Guardian quickly made his way to the alley with sweets and picked two big bags of candies as well as some coffee in a can with an odd flavour for 76. He paid for it all like a good citizen and when they walked out, it had already started to rain. He looked up at the sky and hurried his "friend" to the car so he wouldn't get wet. He tossed him the canned coffee and he opened the first bag of candies for himself. 

 

Guardian had a sweet tooth, but he tried to hide it before anyone. Only 76 knew about his weakness which often manifested when he was stressing out or over thinking things.

 

76 grinned at the smell of rain and let the car open just enough for it to come inside. He opened the coffee and tasted it, melting into his seat with a groan as he did so. "Blueberries and creaaam..." He closed his eyes, appreciating the taste. They didn't get many opportunities to taste stuff that wasn't regulated by Talon and coffee came in all sorts of weird flavour, all of which 76 loved, as long as it wasn't the usual bitter taste. He liked it too but he was too used to it to really enjoy it anymore. Also, sugary goodness. He didn't even felt like poking fun at his guardian anymore.. 76 hummed around a mouthful of coffee and finally closed the door, ready to leave again.

 

Rein ate a few candies before he hid them in the glove compartment and started the car again. He glanced over to 76 to make sure he enjoyed his treat and sighed quietly. He knew that... he had to tell him something . "Listen... I don't think you should put my speculations into the report... just write that we've bumped into someone.. that's it." He said quietly, driving carefully.

 

"I can keep that out of it but I'll have to mention my 'conversation' " 76 said, making quotes marks in the air with the fingers of the hand that wasn't wrapped around the can of coffee. "with the stranger. That's how I got in contact with the mark." 'I can't avoid mentioning my own part' is what he meant. He shrugged, took another sip. "They'll ask questions if I don't."

 

"I know.. I know.." Guardian murmured in reply and slowly started looking for a little device which would open a special path into an underground passage, leading straight into Talon's headquarters.

 

76 yawned, his limbs curling back to him. He wanted to make the coffee last but knew that it'd be taken from him, so he downed it. The caffeine coursing through his veins would be keeping him awake for the rest of the trip for once. His thoughts went back to the rain and he hummed tonelessly, watching the world through a deforming mirror. Darkness and light.

 

Guardian finally made it to the parking lot and stopped the car there. He sighed quietly and took the other bag and hid it under the driver's seat. He’d managed to pull it off once so he hoped that this time it would work as well. He looked at 76 "Time to go..." he murmured quietly and let his hand brush the man's hair away from his forehead. "Come"

 

There was something a bit off with Guardian, 76 thought idly as he watched him hide a bag under his seat. Nothing much but just enough that he could feel it, dancing in the space between them. His train of thought derailed at the hand in his hair and he followed mechanically, mentally preparing his report. Reports were done individually and were usually boring moments during which he revisited what he'd done during the mission and told it to people who took notes. But sometimes they led to those terrifying blanks in his mind where he could feel that something had happened, something that freaked him out but he didn't know what

 

Guardian walked out of the car first, pushing the last candy into his mouth and waited for 76. Like always, two guards were already waiting for them near the elevators and, after checking them for any outside items and making sure they're who they're supposed to be- the let them into the elevators. At the right floor they walked out and two females were already waiting to take them to individual rooms to give their reports.

 

76 suddenly realized he still had not changed and missed his hoodie all of a sudden. And his boots, he really really missed his boots. He moved forward and stood, giving his report and answering questions. The trip to the house, how the mark couldn't be found, the stranger in the crowd. The handlers stopped him there and asked for more details and he gave them. Height, hair, face, his accent, whatever he could remember. They asked what he'd said exactly and he told them. There was something on their faces. Fear? 

  
His bored eyes took in every detail. They were concerned, uneasy with an edge of fear. One of them got up and out of the room, the other told him to continue. He complied. The dancing away, how the stranger had followed him, sticking to him like a cockroach, the mark's intervention, how he'd charmed then executed the Omnic and then their coming back. He avoided the matter of their stop at the store but the handler seemed more concerned with what had happened to the stranger. 76 didn't know and simply said that his guardian had taken care of it. The handler nodded. He was left alone for some time, vaguely wondering if Guardian's debrief had been as weird as his, then a couple of nurses came to get him, steering him to the labs. He'd been there not two days ago, this wasn't usual, which meant- The procedure. His brain blanked out entirely.

 


	5. Or is it?

 

After the report, Guardian was allowed to go to his room and rest. He quickly changed there into normal clothes and groaned quietly. He hated the fact that 76 was not coming back right away... and he knew what was going on there.

 

He sat down on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair and started thinking. He was there two days ago... which meant that now he would be like a lifeless sack. Sick and tired. He would need to take care of him, which he didn't mind, but he hated what they did to him.

 

He also...had to find out more about the fucked up cowboy man. He had to find out more.. but how? There were computer labs, but he would need to steal someone's clearance for that...

 

76 vaguely remembered making the walk back to his room, mind jarred and muddled, his stomach retching regularly. The nurse that was carrying him looked like she pitied him and he wanted nothing more than to gouge her eyes out and carve that pity out of her screaming body.

 

He felt so so sick, his fingers trembling, why were his fingers trembling, hadn't he just had a few days off, why was he feeling so bad. Suddenly he was in his bed, couldn't remember when he'd gotten there. The wall was spinning, the ceiling was spinning, everything was spinning. He passed out, unaware of the way his body shook and trembled.

 

When he opened his eyes, he saw Guardian over him. He was looking after him, and even had a basin with water and a towel. Guardian cleaned off his forehead and said quietly "Lay down... you have a basin next to your bed, on the right.. if you need to vomit that is..." he muttered quietly as he rinsed the towel.

 

76 blinked but couldn't remember when his guardian had come back. "You're back." His throat felt sore and he winced at the pain talking brought him. He wanted to ask about Guardian's mission but the towel passing on his forehead was a relief and his eyes closed.

 

Everything hurt but it was no longer pain, more like the memory of the pain that had seized his whole body. He blinked a few times, finding the strength to talk, even if his words were barely audible. "How'd it go?"

  


"..w..." the man looked at 76. His whole experience of two or three days had been wiped out... that's too much. Guardian clenched his teeth and groaned quietly "... it went... well..." he said very quietly, wiping his forehead again "... I need to go do something... stay here, okay?"

 

" 'm not going anywhere..." The sick man mumbled, his eyes trying to focus but everything was very tiring. And spinning slightly still. The feeling of sickness and his stomach twisting in knots was starting to fade away, replaced by a bone deep exhaustion. He huffed and could already feel that just lifting his arms to put his hand on his eyes and catch some sleep was going to be a terrible ordeal.

 

"... I'm so sorry..." Guardian whispered quietly. If 76 mumbled anything, it got lost somewhere in his pillow. Guardian brushed his hair in place before he stood up "Rest ..." he ordered quietly before he exited the room in silence and only when he was outside he snarled loudly and punched the wall, feeling a waking up pain tickle his hand.

 

76 heard the door open and close. His mind drifted away and when he came back to his senses, it might have been five minutes or an hour, he had absolutely no idea. He managed to drag his arm along the sheet and to lift just enough that it landed on his face. More precisely, on his eyes. He sighed in relief and finally, finally, fell asleep for good.

 

In the meantime Guardian had to figure out few things. First of all.. the pass key. He knew who held them obviously and for sure it would be really difficult to get one... but he had an idea. He walked to the guard station and observed one of the nurses that always did the rounds. He waited patiently for her to exit and then, he walked up to her to ask about few things. Her card was right there dangling off her neck. He narrowed his eyes and grunted something about getting some meds for 76.   
  
The perfect moment happened when the nurse walked with him to the med bay and allowed him to enter with her. He used the moment the woman was turned around checking few shelves to take some kind of a book and examine it. She foolishly placed her card on the desk along her keys so he pretended that while putting the book away, he knocked them off the table. He gathered things quickly from the ground, but managed to slip out the card from the holder and leave only her ID.

 

When Guardian had everything he needed, he took the pills from the nurse and slipped the key into his pocket, remembering to wipe his fingerprints off later and drop it somewhere. He hurried to the computer labs and waited for the camera to turn around in order to enter quickly. There he found the most secluded computer and started his research.  
  
What he found was truly disturbing and confirmed all his worries and even doubled them.   
  
After maybe an hour or two, heavy with new knowledge he executed the rest of his plan of covering his tracks and went back to 76's room in silence.   
  
He sat down on the edge of his bed and checked 76’ temperature carefully as well as the basin, which he hoped was empty. And it was, so 76 had not been vomiting from the sickness. Then he sat down with his elbows rested on his knees and brushed his hair back, breathing out shakily.

 

This was a mess.. a really...really big mess.

  


There was sound. Why was there sound? He was pretty sure he was supposed to be alone, or that he'd been alone when he'd fallen asleep. The intruder's breath was shaky and 76's hand, the one that wasn't currently on top of his head, moved to get one of the blades he kept stashed near the head of his bed. Wrapping his hand around the hilt, he lunged at the intruder, only to stop his move mid-air, having recognized Guardian.   
  
His head spun suddenly from moving too fast. "Fuck." He muttered and fell back to the bed. Even though he no longer felt like death warmed over, laying down and let sleep take him again sounded very good right now. He clearly wasn't back to full strength. He half-growled, half-groaned in annoyance at his own state of weakness.

 

"...."Guardian looked at him, didn't even flinch at the assassination attempt "Rest ..." he sighed quietly and decided to stay like that for a bit, but not able to calm himself down enough, he rested on the bed next to 76 and kept staring at the ceiling.  "Do you want some meds?" he asked, pulling a small vial out of his pocket.

 

"I've slept enough." 76 tried to snarl but it came out as something closer to a huff or a sigh. Fuck this shit. He ground his teeth and clenched a fist. Why was he feeling so weak anyway. He could guess that he'd been through the 'procedure' but he'd never felt this weak or been sick this long before. "What happened?" His voice sounded hoarse to his own ears, another thing that didn't seem normal. He needed answers.

 

"The meds will get you out of the bed" The guardian sighed, standing up to get a glass of water for him. He turned onto the bed and sat next to him holding the glass to 76.  
  
Guardian told him more or less what happened, without adding the personal touch just yet. The whole dressing up, party, the encounter, the mission going well... and that he had been brainwashed two times in two days.

 

He snorted but pushed on one elbow and leaned heavily against the wall, taking the meds and the water. It took a lot of effort to simply not splash the liquid all around. His hands were shaking an awful lot.

 

"Explains why I feel like crap." 76 frowned. He was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to be- whatever it was that they did to him exactly- that often. "Why'd they do it twice in so little time?"

 

"Because of that man... Jesse McCree... he knows.... 76... you really are Jack.... " Guardian looked at him, dead in the eye.

 

Neither of the names rang any bells and 76's brows furrowed. He downed the meds in one go, staring back to his guardian as he came back down.

 

"The fuck are you talking about?"

 

"That is your real name.. and not a number. .. just like mine is not Guardian..." Guardian said pushing his hair back.

 

"You're also getting worse and worse with every single visit to that fucked up place... I can't let you get hurt so much... not any more..." he nearly growled.

 

76 blinked a few times then rubbed his fingers on his temples. "Start from the beginning, I'm not following." He locked eyes with the guardian and clenched his fingers tentatively. He was still a bit dizzy but there as a tingling sensation in his gut, something warm that had his blood singing, tingles rapidly spreading throughout his whole body. He had no idea what those meds were but fuck, they worked wonders. He would probably be able to at least get up in a couple of minutes tops.

 

".... I'm taking you out of the Talon..." the man simply concluded as if he made up his mind already and wasn't going to consult his idea with 76.

 

"You're getting hurt.. more and more... and soon they will damage you beyond repair.. and I don't care about anything else really ..."

 

"I don't get a say in this, now do I." 76 sighed and got up, moving to the trunks containing his clothes. Well, stumbled was closer to it. He cursed his slow recovery and kept a hand on the wall, shaking his head when Guardian made a move to come and help him. He reached the trunks and sat nearby, taking a black outfit out and a pair of those boots he loved so much.   
  
He was wearing a pair of those disgusting paper pants they gave out in hospital and he wasn't keeping it on one more second, fuck whoever tried to stop him. Getting dressed while sitting proved a challenge but what slowed him down was mostly the way his head wavered at some point and he had to stop moving, closing his eyes tightly. "What do you mean. About me getting hurt."

 

"You forget more things... you lose more memories, but worse of all, you are getting physically sick and weaker. First few times you were up and running right away.. and now? It takes you up to two , even three days to be up and running" Guardian stayed on his spot for now. "... same goes for me .... but I'm not getting treated so frequently"

 

76 hummed. If Guardian said he was getting weaker then it was probably true. The man had only ever had 76's wellbeing in mind. 76 finished putting his t-shirt on and zipped his hoodie, his thoughts elsewhere. Why would Talon hurt them? They were their best agents. Though, now that he gave it some thought, other agents didn't stay on base all the time, had friends, families, places they returned to. He grabbed his boots and went back to sit on the bed.

 

In a way, it made sense. It was like a piece of the puzzle had suddenly been revealed and the image he'd assembled and been looking at so far looked truncated all of a sudden. He put the armored boots on, unfastening clamps and locks mechanically, closing them back in place once his feet were secured. 76 hummed again. It's not like he was loyal to Talon anyway. "Where to then?" He smiled to his guardian.

 

"... I figured out one place we could hide in... get more information... Jack..." Guardian said very slowly, as if the name suited his friend. As if it was the real name indeed , which he now started to remember the longer he used it. "Not right away though.. It would look far too suspicious.. and I will find you a doctor who will fix.. and I don't know.. reverse all that shit they did to you..." he muttered quietly and closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't know what we will find out there.. but it's sure is better than letting you suffer any longer..."

 

76 tensed, both at the use of that name and at the mention of new doctors. He hated the ones they had in here enough as it was and didn't felt like meeting new ones. There was a highly likely chance that he'd kill them upon meeting them. He rolled a shoulder, his face curling in distaste. The name meant nothing to him and yet, he could feel himself react to it, something pulling at his insides, a tinge that he tried to ignore but made him angry for some reason.   
  
He clenched his fists again and noticed he was almost good to go. 76 huffed, trying to quash the urge to lash out at something, his fingers twitching. He blinked and reached for his closest blade, letting it roll between deft fingers, over and over and over again. "Whatever you say." It would have been so easy to just ignore this, but- But his guardian seemed shaken. Deeply. Emotional. Torn. He'd never seen the man in such a state before and he wanted to hurt whoever had put this expression on Guardian's face.

 

Guardian glanced to him and remained quiet for a moment or two before he let out a long sigh ".... Listen... " he walked up to him and rested his hand on 76's shoulder "...If I am correct, we had different lives before Talon... and I assume they were much better than constant fighting and mind bleaching... I know you don't like trusting people, just like I do, but you trust me, right?" he asked very quietly, nearly whispered the last question.

 

76 hissed, his fingers coming to a stop. "I don't want someone's sloppy seconds." He shook his head rather violently. If his guardian was true, whoever he had been, had been someone else entirely, someone with goals and dreams and hopes, with a family and friends and a place where they belonged. Things that he wasn't interested in. "We get out and get lives of our own. You want to try and get your past life back, I'll follow and I'll help, but that's all. I'm not interested."   
  
He leaned against the hand a bit, letting his weight rest there for a second before springing back up and stretching carefully, the restlessness in his blood needing a way out. The 'procedure' had taken a toll on his body and if they wanted to escape, he had to be in top shape.

 

"... I don't want my past life back. I want you to be safe and sound ..." Rein said shortly, frowning just slightly. Guardian also felt that 76 was not yet in his top shape and took out the vial from his pocket "The dose is one pill per day... and I don't want you to overdose... I will hold onto it until it's necessary, okay?" he muttered quietly and gently took 76's face in his palms making him look at him.  
  
"This might be really dangerous, but I will do anything to get you out... and best is to do it tonight, since they won't discover my snooping around for the next 24 hours if we're lucky..."he took his hands away slowly "So stay here... like nothing happened. I'm going to fetch us two bags with food and necessities... prepare anything you don't want to part with and make sure it's light and easy to carry. And don't do anything stupid while I'm gone..." he warned him as well, knowing that 76 was now probably more focused on getting his anger out, than listening to him.

  
What had just happened. What. Had. Just. Happened. 76 could still feel the warmth lingering on his skin as his guardian left the room. What. His train of thought had come to a staggering halt. He blinked. Inhaled, exhaled. Blinked some more. Just. What. He looked over the room but the paper pants laying on the ground had about as much answers to offer him than his dazed mind.   
  
He shook himself, pushing the incident to a corner of his mind. There'd be time to ask (or keep on ignoring this) later. Now he had to pack stuff. Stuff he cared about. He considered and started un-stashing his favourite blades, dug a pair of knee high boots from the black uniforms trunk, retrieved the case that contained his rifle, a short and long distance modifiable custom dual pulse/bullets rifle and, after giving a few more minutes of considering, packed an outfit from each trunk. It's not like he had much else choice anyway and it'd do until they could get more. By the time he was finished, 76 was grinning, a bit madly, the restlessness thrumming under his skin in a roaring song.

 


	6. In which there are no turrets, nor is there any mecha

 

After an hour or maybe longer, Guardian came back to the room carrying two medium-sized backpacks. He tossed them on 76's bed and looked at him. "I managed to get us a mission for this evening... a very far away one which we should leave for immediately.  Though... " he reached to his neck and touched it gently, feeling a slight bump there - the tracker.   
  
"We will need to carry the rest of my plan on the road. Should be pretty easy since members of Overwatch are what we're after. Torbjorn, the Swedish engineer and someone named DVA..." he shrugged slowly and motioned to 76 to take the backpack "I packed food, a small map and other things... the two backpacks are identical, so if anything happens, grab whichever and run..."

 

76's restless energy had subsided after some time. It had felt like ... excitement? Which made little to no sense, but he was happy to leave Talon apparently. He shrugged mentally. "Might be better if you carry them all. That way I can rid us of any ... inconvenience we might come across." He let a knife slip into his palm in less than a second, demonstrating his point with a twirl.

 

"I will carry them both then, but my point still stands. If something happens you take one and run." Guardian said quietly and fixed his leather jacket before putting on the first backpack on his back, the other one on his front. He looked now like an awkward turtle, but had both hands still at disposal.   
  
"They should come for us any minute really..."

 

He nodded and took his extra bag, fixing the rifle case between his shoulders with the two straps. It was made to be carried this way and rested comfortably on his back. The rest of his stuff took the space of a small bag, which 76 slung over his shoulder. Good to go then. As if on cue, the door opened and a handler came in, eyeing them both critically before leading them to the elevators.

 

Rein... or rather Guardian acted coldly as always. He grunted at every question and huffed quietly when they were shown the map and the bridge they were supposed to destroy. It was... mostly a job for Guardian, but for some reason, 76 was also assigned - probably because they had to make sure they would be no survivors after that.

 

76 listened to the instructions as usual, distracted and bored, his gaze often becoming distant. It didn't mean he wasn't listening, just that it bored him to no end and that he couldn't wait for it to be over. It wasn't a close combat mission and 76 would probably have to use his rifle to cover Guardian.    
  
The fact that it might not be against the Overwatch agents quirked his lips in a sadistic smile, a detail that their handler would brush away as 76 being 76. If anything, he saw them relax. So they really did keep an eye on him, uh. Heh. He hoped they'd had fun with the feeds from his room. Finally, finally, the transporter landed and surprise, they'd been given the same car that they'd had been given during the previous mission.    
  
76 knew because his guardian had told him but, he figured it was another test and, when he gave no sign of recognition, the handlers finally left, the transporter taking off. From what he'd gathered, they were still far from their objective and had several hours of traveling ahead of them. Great. Some time to nap.

 

Guardian sighed heavily when they were finally in the car "I'm going to drive... you take a nap, but when I stop, we will need to act quickly, do you understand?" he said quietly glancing over at 76 "The Overwatch agents that we're supposed to get rid off will aid us in our plan, but of course it's not consensual so..." he shrugged slightly, turning the engine on.   
  
"Just, quick question - have you ever tried to use your knife on someone and NOT kill them with it?" he muttered, as he started driving slowly.

 

He shrugged. "I've tortured people to get intel before. But I have a feeling that's not what you mean." 76 looked at Guardian's stern face, thinking about it more thoroughly. He shrugged again, a tiny barely perceptible move. "Anyway, I know my way around knives and blades so don't worry."

 

"When we're done, you will need to ... extract small chips out of our necks.. well... at least mine." Guardian said very quietly. "If we don't destroy them and fake our deaths, the whole plan will fall apart..."

 

"Sure. Not a problem." 76 thought about it but he couldn't remember having ever been implanted a chip. But with how he'd been 'processed' quite often, that was no surprise. "I... don't know where mine is though. Or if I even have one." He narrowed his eyes.

 

"It should be located on the neck, just like mine... if it is somewhere else though... that might be a problem, and you just need to figure it out pronto..." Guardian said calmly, driving and observing the road.

 

"So helpful." The sarcasm weighted heavily in 76's mind. He felt the skin of his throat searching for a bump that would be on one side but not the other but without result. He frowned and searched higher, fingers splaying at the base of his neck, then, when they found nothing, going down to where his neck and his shoulders met. There was ... something.   
  
He moved in the seat, one hand going to Guardian's neck, searching for the chip, the other remaining on the bump he'd found, his mind analysing. Same size, same height, seemed like the thing. He moved back into his seat with a huff. His own would be a pain to remove. Great. 76's eyes drifted to the road, icy and empty and felt a yawn form in his throat. He yawned.

 

"I will remove yours if you guide me, that's not a problem..." Guardian said, after 76 removed his hand from his neck, he shivered slightly. The cold hands, ugh.    
  
"You will just need to tell me..." he added, just as they saw the bridge and the van they were supposed to get. Perfect... this is it. "The plan is... we ram into them on the bridge after we pull the chips out and let them push us to the river... it should look bad enough, so they won't suspect that we've escaped... or any other ideas?"

 

76 considered. "We should leave the bags out here then. Also, the place is cold. Being drenched doesn't seem like the best of ideas." He raised a finger after a few more seconds. "How about we extract the chips, wait for them to get out of their van and fight those people. If you hit the car strongly enough, it should explode. I'll throw the chips near it before that, so they'll be destroyed in the blast. We kick their butt and steal their van and we're good." He turned to his guardian again, finger still raised. "Sounds good to you?"

 

"Better.. we could salvage the bags as well.. but there would be witnesses of our escape left behind..." Guardian looked at him, stopping the car near some bushes to give them time to think for a moment.

 

"And?" 76 was confused. "They're not Talon." He huffed and rolled his eyes. "If it bothers you so much, we can kill them. No witnesses." He didn't see where the problem was. It's not like those people were gonna report to Talon so where was the problem exactly. "Or we could beat them up until they're unconscious. Then explode the car." 

 

Guardian nodded slightly. "... We can try that... but first we need to take care of the chips..." 76 moved into Guardian's lap, knife in hand and tilted the neck. "Don't move." Unlike his, the guardian's chip was in a fairly accessible spot and if the man didn't move, it'd be easy to remove. "If they're unconscious, that's good for us too, right?"

 

"Right..." for that Guardian had to lower his head to let 76 reach the back of it, which was a little bit hard, but he somehow managed to do it "Medkit is in the glove compartment as well..."

 

76 made a small cut to the side and pushed-pulled the chip out. It came out pretty easily, Guardian's body ejecting the foreign object. 76 kept the chip in his hand and, after opening the medkit and retrieving a bandage from it, put it on the small wound. He then handed the knife to his guardian and indicated the exact location of the chip with a blank 'here'.

 

"How deep do I cut?" Guardian inquired first, cleaning off the blade with some rubbing alcohol from the medkit and then turning it towards the little bump on 76's back. His chip was still working, so it meant it couldn't recognize if it was inside a body or not... that was good.

 

"About half an inch sounds about right. Careful. It's near my spine." Despite his words, 76 was still relaxed. He had no reason not to trust the guardian. The man had never hurt him before and, while 76 didn't quite trust words on their own, if Guardian had meant what he'd said- He smiled, neither sharply nor sweetly, a simple smile, a bit uncertain, that wavered around the edges but was genuine.

 

76 could feel the blade sinking into his skin and doing a quick swift motion down. A very small opening was necessary to push the chip out, so after a gentle squeeze a capsule like device jumped out onto Guardian's palm. He quickly cleaned the wound and stuck a band aid over it. "Done.. two chips" he nodded slightly and put them in the glove compartment for now.

 

"Now what." 76 moved off of Guardian's lap, settling back into his seat. The cut stung a bit, but he knew by experience that it would be closed within a couple of minutes, vanished within the hour. He rolled his shoulders. He needed to get moving. All that waiting was making him restless again. He licked his lips, fingers twitching slightly.

 

"Now.. we ram into them as soon as they start crossing the bridge.. and we attack... but we leave our backpacks in here, so we can come back for them in their car" Guardian nodded slightly.

 

76 nodded and got his rifle out of its protective casing and into his hands, putting his gloves on. He braced his feet so that he wouldn't be thrown around by the crashing-and-ramming-into-another-car. Finally. He smirked."Let's go."

 

"I will look out for you." that Guardian always said before any mission he thought to be quite a challenge for both of them. The car started and with a loud screech, Guardian chased down the Overwatch van and rammed right into it. They didn't even have time to react, as Guardian quickly pulled on his hoodie and got out of the car to smash the window of the passenger's door and grab a small woman to drag out on the bridge.    
  
She was prepared though and kicked him in the face, making him take few steps back, enough to guard 76 with his shield he’d turned on.

 

76 slithered out of the car, sticking to the shadows as his... partner attacked the passenger side. The girl was young and had strange markings on her face. Funny. She was feisty. He grinned. She ran for the backdoor of the van and 76 tripped her to the ground, tutting as she fell. Her glare was murderous as she got back up but he didn't leave her enough time to actually get back and slammed her head to the side of the van.    
  
She bled and tried to grab for him but he slammed her head again, a mantra of 'don't kill don't kill don't kill' circling over and over in his head. He was trying, okay? He considered for a split half second and then slammed her head a third time, for good measure. It was then that the driver's door opened. A... dwarf came out, looking at 76 rapidly but the man's gaze was suddenly drawn to Guardian, his eyes widening. "Reinhardt?!"

 

The man froze just for a second and looked back at the small man who was holding a powerful weird weapon. He ... as well? What was going on... who was he exactly?! He growled quietly and moved back again just slightly to check where 76 was.    
  
The girl was out of the question.. the only one left was the smaller man. He took a big swing in an attempt to use his armoured glove and knock the man unconscious before he... Reinhardt would feel something more. Fear.

 

The small man surprisingly easily dodged and sprung back into the car, reaching for his gun. He ran on the other side and jumped out on the passenger's side, shooting at 76 without looking. 76 felt a bullet graze his arm and took his rifle into his hands, hailing a barrage of bullets at the short-legged annoyance. The dwarf managed to avoid them all, hiding behind the car, shooting more bullets at the both of them.

 

Guardian growled quietly when he noticed things were not going well. He took out his axe and chased after the small man, in hope of catching him off guard at least for half a second to knock him down with the back of his axe.

 

The dwarf was too agile, too fast and too annoying. 76 grit his teeth and slung his rifle back onto his back. He gripped the girl's scalp and, in a swift move, pressed a blade against her throat, a bead of blood pearling. "Hey fucktard!" The small man turned his way, eyes narrowed but his brows suddenly climbed up as he recognized the voice. "Commander?!" Aaand that's when Guardian's axe caught him, sending him flying against the side of their car, against which he flopped, unconscious.  
  
76 let go of the girl, her head thunking against the ground unceremoniously. She'd have one hell of a headache ~~if~~ when she woke up. "About time." He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

  
"..." Rein.. or rather Guardian was breathing heavily while looking at the short man. He pushed his hand over his face and felt it was actually shivering. That was odd. He huffed in annoyance and then looked at 76 for a brief second before he felt he HAD to move, or he would collapse on the ground for some reason. He quickly dragged two bodies closer to their original car and he hopped into the white van. He waited for 76, drove back for their backpacks and sped away as quickly as possible.   
  
They were free now. He... Reinhardt and... Jack. Commander Jack.

 


	7. In which no AIs were harmed, I swear

 

76 stared at his guardian for a moment, taking the shivers and shudders, before putting a hand onto the man's elbow. "You good?" He wasn't sure what was going on and it took him more than a few minutes to put two and two together. "Is it because of what he said? What he called you? What he called-" He swallowed, the sharp edge of something constricting his throat for a split second. "-me?" 76 didn't quite understand why it affected his guardian so much but he was starting to believe that unlike him, there was a chance that Guardian found meaning in the words. What had the dwarf called them again? Reinhardt? Commander?  
  
While he was vaguely curious of Commander of what exactly ~~he~~ his previous self had been, he also wanted nothing to do with that for now. And yet, the curiosity was there, rasping, muttering at the edges of his mind, morbid, a dark dark whisper. 76 bit his lip, drawing blood. What if he couldn't avoid it? What if he had no choice but to face a past he knew nothing about? Did he really had a choice? It started look more and more like he didn't.

 

"I'm fine..." Rein.. Guardian groaned quietly "We're going the hell out of here... fasten your seatbelt..." he added in a raspy voice and floored it to just... drive. Drive far and away before he would use the GPS to get them to a place he had found in his short search. An old abandoned base, which was burned, but not to the ground. They could hide there and he hoped that... he would come back to his senses there. The shivers were still occurring from time to time, so he had to push himself not to think.   
  
It was really hard, once during the ride he nearly crashed on a tree, because he was so focused on blanks in his mind. He quickly regained his composure after that and managed to drive again. After few long hours, he looked at 76. "We... are nearly there..."

 

At some point, 76 had fallen asleep as always but Guardian's words snapped him awake. He uncurled from his foetal position and stretched a bit. He looked around but he was pretty sure he'd never been here before. The snow was almost making walls around them, the lighting surreal and white-blue. He could see branches beyond the 'walls' but the trees were buried to the neck in snow. "Where are we?"

 

"We're close to Finland's border I think..." he muttered quietly "I just follow the directions" he pointed to the phone and then at the road "This building should be intact so we won't freeze, but I'm guessing we’ll need to find a way to make it more secure and warm..." When 76 looked at Guardian, he still looked bad. He was a little bit too pale and looked very tired.

 

76 huffed, shaking his head lightly. "What I meant was: what is this place? Why here?" He observed his guardian. The man looked like crap but 76 couldn't remember him getting hurt during the fight. 76 licked his lips and winced slightly when his tongue met the half-healed cut there. Right. "Is it far? You don't look so good. You need rest." An sliver of concern slipped into his voice.

 

"Old Overwatch base... abandoned. And I feel like... it's the best place to hide and get more intel. It's right under enemy's nose right.. but... they wouldn't suspect anything." he nodded slightly and started slowly to stop the car. Before them appeared a tall building, looming over them. It did really look abandoned and just hidden from anyone.   
  
"Mn...I'm fine..." he added with no real intention to convince 76. He was feeling like crap... but the mission was much more important.

 

"Yeah and I'm a farmer" 76 rolled his eyes. He wasn't used to Guardian being in a worse shape than him. His partner was a tank and 76 ended up wounded or sick far more often than him. He had no real idea of how he was supposed to take care of him. The car stopped finally and 76 grabbed his bags, stepping out into the cold crisp air. At least it wasn't snowing so far.   
  
The building was tall and wedged between two ice cliffs, the top of it barely sprouting up there. It looked completely abandoned. 76 turned to Guardian. "Come on, let's get moving before we turn into ice statues."

 

Guardian followed after him slowly, fixing his hoodie quickly so the cold air wasn't blowing into his collar. When they crossed the fence the way to the building was rather easy. Getting inside proved to be a little bit tricky, but one bash of the giant's shoulder into the door and they had a perfect way in.   
  
Inside, it was actually quite warm. So it proved the building was stable and had no broken windows. Guardian closed the door after them and barricaded them just in case. Then he reached to one of the bags that 76 was holding and took out a flashlight.

 

76 felt a bit uneasy being there. He couldn't quite pinpoint why or what it was exactly that made him feel that way, but the uneasiness was there, like sand, slowly slipping into him. He swallowed thickly. The place was huge, but not as big as a Talon base. Anyway, if the place was anything like their base (previous base, considering that they'd ran away) it probably had its own generators to keep the building warm and lit. If they were any lucky, there might even be some water pumps, so they could have water too.   
  
"I'm gonna check and see if they were running using generators or the electrical grid." He took the flashlight from Guardian's hands and started moving, stopping after a few steps. 76 turned back to his companion. "Be back in a few, try and get some rest." With that and a small nod, the assassin started moving again.

 

Guardian was about to stop him, but his gaze landed on a big Overwatch logo above the main arch of the corridor and he groaned quietly, moving to one of the sofas to sit down. He closed his eyes and before he knew it he was gone.   
  
This place was huge, but it looked like it was abandoned just moments ago. Excluding the thick layer of dust of course. The layout of the building was rather easy so finding a basement should not be that big of a problem for 76. Besides... there were signs everywhere.

 

The generator was ridiculously easy to find and was perfectly functional order. Nice. He started it again. A loud hum rumbled through the room and the screens lit up, indicating that the generator would be in working order in about 30minutes. 76 decided to wait, using the room's terminal to check the systems in the meantime. He cut all comms and the external lights. No need to advertise their position. Everything seemed to be fine. It was as if the base had just been emptied and shut down one day. 76 shrugged and checked the timer again. 10 minutes left. He decided to get back to his guardian.    
  
'Should I call him Reinhardt?' He wondered, strolling through the empty halls. He could, though it might probably take him some time to remember to do so. He huffed. Whatever. All he had to do was ask Guardian. Once he was better. He reached the room in which he'd left his partner with a solid two minutes until the countdown reached completion.

 

He found Guardian sound asleep on one of the sofas with his arms crossed over his chest and his head resting on his right shoulder. He looked just tiny bit better, but it was hard to tell in that light. He breathed quietly, so he was still alive. When 76 walked in, he stirred slightly in his sleep, but didn't wake up at least not yet.

 

Ah well. 76 considered staying and waiting for Guardian to wake up, but the long road and the adrenaline from the fight had made him a bit restless, just enough that waiting any more than he already had seemed like the most boring thing ever. Instead, he decided to explore. He slung his rifle on his back and took one of the two backpacks. Better be prepared.    
  
The large hallways spoke of crowds and passage, the large rooms filled with rows upon rows of seat told the story of a place buzzing with activity. The light came back on all at once, filling the dark blue shadows with golden lights and warmth. AC seemed on. Good. They wouldn't freeze to death. There were a lot of one bed rooms. Living quarters, 76 figured.   
  
Letting his feet guide him, he arrived in a big room that looked like some sort of communication or control center. "Welcome back Commander. It is good to see you are alive and well." A voice spoke and 76 had his rifle in hand before the end of the sentence, pointed in the direction from which the voice had come from, the... ceiling? "Show yourself." "That will not be possible,Commander."    
  
He frowned. The voice continued. "As the AI that manages the Watchpoints, I have no physical form." Oh. 76 blinked and his mind reeled back to the previous bit of information he'd been given. "What did you call me? How did you know who I was?" "Based on your files and my sensors, there's a 99,5% chance that you are Jack Morrison, Strike Commander of Overwatch, who went missing fifteen years ago."

 

76 swallowed thickly. He didn't want to know and yet something stretched under his skin, a cold fire that made no sense to him, burning need, cold desire. He looked at one of the screens, sat in one of the chairs. The scent of dust was heavy, almost tangible in the air. The AI must have sensed that something was amiss because her voice comes up again, innocent, almost soft. "Is something wrong, Commander?"    
  
He shook his head, swallowed again. "I don't remember." He punched something, realized he'd punched and broken the screen in front of him only as blood started trickling down his forearm. 76 closed his eyes. Inhale, exhale. Calm down. He opened his eyes again, licked his lips. "Tell me." His eyes closed once more. He didn't want to know. But he had to. "Tell me everything."

 

When lights lit up again, it woke up Guardian. He gasped quietly and ran his hand over his face. He felt terrible. As if someone told him to run a marathon without a proper preparation. Then he heard voices. An echo of a female tone startled him and he quickly got up. The bags were missing. Shit... 76.    
  
He rushed towards the source of the voice and had to squint since the light was too much at the moment. He crossed few corridors, walked by door that was taken out of a frame with a name on it. ‘McCree’, but he didn't bother about that.   
  
After 2 minutes he found 76 and stepped inside the bright lit room and felt his blood freeze when a soft female voice spoke "Welcome back Reinhardt. Two persons coming back after 15 years. I am honoured." Athena spoke and Guardian looked up at the ceiling. An A.I. Of course this place would have one.   
  
What troubled him more was 76 slumped over one of the control panels with... a bleeding arm. Of course he would block all the shock he just went through to walk up to him, grab one of the backpacks, take medkit and quickly look after the wound that 76 had.

 

76 didn't realize Guardian was there until he felt bandages being wrapped his hand. He turned to the other arm, blinking rapidly. "You're up." His eyes were teary for some reason. Probably all the dust. The AI had stopped speaking when his guardian had come inside the room apparently. She hadn't had time to talk much and had still been explaining how Overwatch had been founded, telling him about the Omnic Crisis and the founding members of Overwatch. He let Guardian bandage his hand, feeling... subdued.

 

"Shut up... please..." Guardian had barked at the A.I for some reason as he finished the bandages up. Then he wiped tears from Jack's face... wait.. Jack's? 76... Guardian frowned a little bit. "For now... you need rest as well..." he rested his hand on the panel and looked up at all the pictures the computer displayed. Strangers, some old men writing up documents, some presidents it seemed... he didn't much care about it, until his eyes fell onto one picture.    
  
A tall man with a bulky body hugging tightly under one arm a woman, and a man. It was him.

  
"I slept in the car..." 76 stopped, staring at his guardian. The man was staring at something on the other screen. He looked and froze too. That was... Guardian and... him? A him that was smiling and looked.... bright. He looked away. It hurt. The man's smile hurt.

 


	8. In which people take naps and really, it was just some dust in my eye

 

76 tried to get his guardian to move and follow him. They had to get out of this room. 

"Come on, we need to see if there's still food in this place."

 

Guardian was completely limp and he let 76 guide him out of the room. His face lacked any expression and his only remaining eye was blank. They had finally seen a proof that could not be denied. Them... with Ana.. the same Ana that had been killed by Overwatch. Or so they thought.   
  


76's mind was reeling. The two of them on a picture in Overwatch files, along with someone else. As he guided Guardian through the maze of rooms, he tried to remember. The woman. He'd seen her somewhere before. Hadn't she been part of their team at the very beginning? 

The memories were distant, hazy. He knew that he'd known her at some point but couldn't get a grasp of any clear image. He huffed in annoyance, taking a turn and stumbling into something that looked like a kitchen. Good.

  
"...." When they found the kitchen, Guardian sat down heavily at the table and not really paying much attention to the dust around, he rested his elbows on it and hid his face in his hands. This was too much. All that... AND STILL HE DIDN'T REMEMBER ANY OF THAT. For him it was a lie, but he knew it was true. So.. that meant that he was broken. Broken beyond repair.   
  
76 moved around, looking in the cupboards. Most of them were empty but there was a stash of canned food in one of the lower cupboards. Someone had been here at some point, and had stocked the place with provisions. Not enough for a full stay but enough for a couple of people needing to hide for a week or two. He licked his lips, twirled his wrist. At least they wouldn't die of starvation.   
  
Turning back to Guardian, he found him with his head between his hands. Was he alright? He didn't seem alright. His guardian looked less and less okay. And he had no idea on how to fix him. 76 was a killer, an assassin. He broke things, damaged them beyond repair, picked and killed and disposed of. He didn't know how to fix things. He didn't know what to do about the knot in his chest or the haunted expression on the guardian's face. He sat near him. "There's food in the cupboards, heating, energy. It's a good place to stay."

 

"Good... I hoped for that. Last reports said that a group of Overwatch soldiers was here. Some regular troops, no one special..." Guardian muttered from between his hands and finally looked at 76. His expression was pained and his face was pale. "... eat up. You need energy. " he placed one of his massive palms on his shoulder. "I will keep an eye on the rest of the building..." He wanted to get up, but he had no strength. For some reason his legs just wouldn't move. 

 

"Don't even think about it. You need to eat." 76 shook his head and started heating the contents of one of the cans. Anger. He could do anger.   
  
Guardian breathed in slowly and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. "This base should also be completely offline... No one should be able to connect to it..." he added after a short pause.

 

Focus. 76 nodded as he worked. "I cut the comms and the outside lights. This place should look dead." He filled something that had probably been a salad bowl once upon a time but looked more of a plate next to Guardian. He set the salad-bowl-plate in front of the man and handed him a fork and a spoon. "We're not going anywhere 'til you've eaten. You falling over out of exhaustion won't help us." He hissed, narrowing his eyes at his partner. "If I have to sit on you to make sure you don't go anywhere, I will, so eat."

 

"What... r..right... exhaustion is not an option.. I need to protect you." The guardian said in a stern tone and started eating, but slowed down after a moment and came to a halt. He rubbed his face slowly and pressed his lips together.   
  
<"I must.. protect 76... that.. is what I do.. that is what I exist for... I must.. protect 76... because why? Why... why the fuck why?!"> he groaned, banging his fist on the table. <"Think you fucking idiot..."> he hissed to himself, his shoulders rolling down <"I must protect 76… because… he… is.. Jack… Jack.. Jack my friend..."> he whispered quietly looking at the bowl as if it was from another dimension.    
  
<"76... is friend..."> this wasn't any type of a special revelation, but he connected a single thread he was left with with the present. And it clicked. That was keeping him going for all those years. 76, not because of an order. No.. it had never been an order.

 

76 had literally no idea what was going on. He figured that Guardian was probably having some sort of mental breakdown but the language wasn't one he spoke. He frowned and tried to wait for some sort of moment of calm in his guardian's rant. 

Suddenly, the man looked like he'd had a revelation. 

There. 

76 put his face in front of Guardian's. "Hey. You okay there?"

 

"...Nien... no my friend... " he suddenly said in a very tired voice. This sounded so painfully familiar. And this was the only sentence he spoke in English. After that he lowered his head and drew at blank. There was... nothing else. At all. 76.. Jack probably had some flashbacks, he remembered smells or touch of something.. and he? He had nothing at all besides that one sentence 'Jack is a friend I must protect'. For the first time in ages he felt as if someone squeezed his throat and he couldn't relax at all. He felt he was suffocating and everything was going blurry before his eyes.   
  
Tears. Those he hadn't shed in years. In ages.. or ever. There was no concept of past for him beyond that sentence. A promise he made, to the man who... he failed. He failed a friend! He did not protect him at all! Guardian made a muffled noise and pressed his face into his hands again, his fingers pulling at his hair. The realization was slowly draining him out and there was no way to escape that.   
  
He was someone else in the past, yes, but he had Jack. He felt emotions for him, and... he failed. As Reinhardt, as Guardian.  As a friend.

 

76 sighed. He wished- he wished he knew what to do. But he had not been made to know. And so he didn't. He moved to set his chair behind his guardian's, putting his back against the much bigger one. 'I've got your back'  76 bumped his head backwards softly, a blade having found its way to his fingers, twirling and twirling and twirling away. "Eat." An order and a demand rolled into one.   
  
Friend. What were even friends? Friends. Friends were-  _ dark skin, a deep voice, laughs and pranks and stolen food, being sick together over a toilet, injections and drills and- _ He blinked. What. 76 looked at his hand. The one that wasn't holding the blade was trembling. He licked his lips. What had that been.

 

Rein didn't react to the order, too deep in his emptiness. At least, it seemed that way at first. Orders... That, he knew how to follow and what to do. He slowly peeled his hands off his face, wiping the tears away. He started eating again, very slowly, but everything stopped in his throat. He had to make himself swallow all that warm goo. He couldn't even really taste it.   
  
When he was done, he moved up suddenly and heated up another portion for 76. He put it in another bowl and placed on the table alongside fork and spoon. Maybe Guardian was over it all? When 76 looked in his eyes, it was clear he wasn't. His guardian looked at him and pointed at the food "Eat up..."

 

"Fine." To be honest, 76 was a bit relieved when Guardian started moving again. If he could focus on the present, it may prevent another bout of whatever that bunch of images had been from hitting him again. His partner was clearly shaken, something broken in his gaze but he was up and moving again and for now, it was enough to keep 76 on his feet. He emptied the bowl swiftly and leaned back once he was done. 76 hummed. "What now?"

 

"We will move out after a bit. We need to stay low for now. Talon for sure will want you back..." Guardian replied, his voice devoid of any emotion. "I say two weeks maximum. They need to lose our track and the Overwatch must think we've died. For now... we... we...." he paused trying to push his problems away. 76 was the one to be protected. He breathed in and out slowly.   
  
"Sleep... I need some sleep and .. you should as well, but you won't go of course. Let's find some living quarters and set there. No going to the control room though. We need to turn off that A.I..."

 

"Don't." 76 didn't elaborate. He got up and grabbed some of their stuff. "Come on, let's get you settled." Something about this place pushed 76 into making decisions, into having opinions about things. He tapped a rhythm against his thigh as he walked back to the quarters he'd seen. Keeping one's mind blank was somewhat complicated and he felt his thoughts rift back to what he'd seen, what he'd felt, what the AI had told him. He had to cut his own train of thought over and over and over again. He opened a door. The name on the door said Reyes, and the room behind it was much bigger than any of the ones they'd come across. He nodded. It was big enough for his guardian. "Get some rest, I'll get us settled in." He turned back to Guardian with a shrug.

 

Guardian looked around the room and back at 76. "Promise me you won't go back to the control room..." he muttered quietly, already undoing his hoodie. He felt nothing for this place. That was good. The empty bed looked quite welcoming in fact.

 

It took him a moment but 76 finally answered. "I won't go back there without you." It was the best he would offer for now. Now that he looked more at it, the room felt both welcoming and really not welcoming. He wasn't sure why but the place felt off. He shook himself and moved to retrieve their bags, which were still in the entry hall.

 

When 76 was gone for a moment, Guardian sighed deeply and pressed his hands to his face. Come on... get a grip. You can do it. Just do what you were meant to do. Protect 76. He slowly walked to the bed and sat down on it, pulling his hoodie off and started undoing his belt. He had to rest and it would be much better in a t-shirt and boxers anyway.    
  
When 76 came back, Guardian stood up to take out one sleeping bag out of the bag.

 

"You're kidding right." 76 eyed the sleeping bag scornfully. "There's a perfectly usable bed right there and you want to sleep in a sleeping bag." He raised a brow and canted his hips, letting his head roll to the side. "Thanks but no thanks. Do what you want but I'm sleeping in the bed." 76 shook his head and leaned against the doorway.

 

"What.. no.. I'm placing that sleeping bag on the bed.. there is no bedding after all.. I don't wanna sleep on some old ass bedding..." Guardian said, narrowing his eyes. It was quite visible that Guardian was still slightly off.    
  
"Hmn..." he rolled the sleeping bag on the mattress and finally slipped inside, breathing out heavily. This felt good... he could sleep for ages now.

  
  


76 sat on the bed, keeping an eye on his guardian as he fell asleep. He soon felt antsy again and got up to look around the room. It was quite tidy and there weren't any personal effect lying around. Whoever Reyes was, he probably didn't really live here. The place looked mostly functional. 

 

There was a shelf filled with books near a comfortable looking armchair, and after he'd done a full swipe of the room (silently as to not wake the guardian up) he had a look at the shelf. Reports mostly and a few books about weapons but it was a small but worn out book that attracted his eye. He pulled it out. 'The art of war' ? 76 smiled, for some reason (he didn't know what the reason was though), and got comfortable in the armchair. They had time.

 

As Guardian was sleeping, he didn't seem to get any ‘good night's sleep’ really. He kept turning and huffing in his dream, probably having some kind of a nightmare -although before it was not like that. Guardian never had dreams, or never really tossed in his dream. He always slept like a log and just got up and was ready for duty.

 

76 read chinese easily and his eyes roamed over the pages, devouring the words of wisdom they contained. He had the weird sensation that he had already read that book, as the sentences and words strung together. He knew this book. He had read this book before. No. Jack Morrison had read this book before. He shuddered. Closed the book.   
  
It's only then that he realized what was going on with Guardian (Reinhardt?). While 76 had never really seen his guardian sleep (except for the short nap he'd taken in the lobby earlier) it didn't look like he was actually getting any rest. He moved, silent as the assassin he had been made to be and sat next to his guardian. "Wake up."

 

Guardian's eyes opened right away when he heard the other's voice. ".... what's going on?" he muttered very quietly, dragging his palm over his face. He felt even less rested than before. What a great nap it was. "Something is wrong?" he quickly followed with another question.

 

"I'm good. You were trashing in your sleep." He eyed the kicked sleeping bag with a raised brow. "What's wrong with you? And don't serve any of that 'I'm alright' trash. Clearly, you're not." 76 glared at his guardian, clearly expecting another sidestep around the truth, another lie.

 

"I don't know. My mind can't stop... racing if that makes any sense. No pictures, memories... it just processes nothing.. I don't understand..." Guardian gave him a flat out straight answer for some odd reason. "I might have suffered some damage when that dwarf attacked us... but I don't remember him hitting me in the head..."

 

76 stayed silent. He had no answer to that. He frowned, bit his lip. "Is there something that could help you?" The base felt like it was full of half memories and whispers, and 76 wasn't sure he wanted to wander around right now. Not when a book picked randomly told him things about his previous self.

 

"I don't know." Guardian responded quietly and ran his big palm over his face "... believe me, I know this could jeopardize this whole thing... I AM trying to get it under control..." he nodded slowly and closed his eyes. After solid 2 minutes of silence, Guardian stretched his arm to 76. "Come..." he said, his tired eyes looking at the other man "Let's see if that works..."

 

What. 76 blinked at the stretched arm. What did he mean. His frown deepened but he clasped Guardian's arm with his own slowly. "See if what works?" He sounded confused.

 

Guardian slowly and gently pulled him closer to himself and... just hugged 76. Not in a protective manner, like he sometimes did while holding up his shield. It was more... quiet and at the same time, more personal.

 

There was a lot of blinking happening with 76's eyes as his brain tried to catch up, drawing a lot of blanks. It felt... nice? But weird? But natural? But what. It didn't feel like something he was used to. And yet, he could feel himself relax. What the fuck.

 

Guardian kept him close very gently so it was easy to break free. However, the big man seemed to relax as well and breathe out slowly. His heart stopped racing and he felt sort of ... safer.

 

76 hummed, uncertain as to what to do next. His guardian seemed to have relaxed but could he move. Should he move? He yawned. What the actual fuck. He'd slept on the way. How was he tired. 76 felt himself becoming drowsy. He was warm and sort of... comfortable? He yawned again and fell asleep.

  
Guardian felt that 76 was becoming limp and soon he fell asleep on him. It was... slightly surprising, but not that much. He gently pulled him onto the bed and since he wasn't really ready to move and look at this place, he wrapped his arm around 76 and went back to sleep as well.

 


	9. In which Reyes really needs to hide his notes better and gunpowder and ozone are the new cologne

 

This time, Guardian managed to sleep much better. His mind was clear and his worries disappeared, at least for now. It was a weird thing... that the presence of the other man worked such wonders.   
  
When he woke up again, he realized he’d slept at least 6 hours straight.. and was feeling much... much better.

 

Instead of snapping awake as he usually did, 76 woke up slowly and growled at how slowly his body was coming back online. He didn't feel efficient, he didn't feel normal. He felt... weak. He cracked an eye open and eyed the world with a pissed expression. "Ugh."

 

"Hm?" When Guardian heard the grunt, he was rather surprised.

"Are you okay?" followed the question right away.

 

"I feel like shit." 76 grumbled, closing his eyes again. He burrowed more comfortably and huffed.

"Hm..." Guardian wrapped his arm around 76 again and hugged him to himself "That might be my fault." he said after a short pause.

"Why?" 76 was comfortable, didn't feel like moving or opening his eyes again. He felt... safe? What. What was even safety.

"Because you've slept next to me... and I'm quite big..." Guardian muttered quietly.

 

It didn't make any sense. "You're not making any sense." 76 mumbled

"Hm... maybe.. but I do feel better. Thank you..." Guardian hugged 76 to himself a little bit more and closed his eyes again. "I don't know what that was... but it.. helped..."

Waking up was proving to be... difficult. "Okay." 76 grumbled and felt his body relax into the hold instead of tensing. Again. So weird.

After a moment longer, Guardian finally sat up slowly "I'm going to go prepare some food... I'm starving... I bet you are as well..." he gently ruffled 76's hair before he moved from the bed and went to the kitchen.

 

76 growled a vaguely assenting noise and rolled to the edge of the bed. He felt slow and when he tried to pass his hand into his hair, he missed. He missed his own goddamn fucking hair. A low growl rumbled in his chest. 76 got up and got out of his clothing. He stumbled toward the door and ended up in a small bathroom. He checked for hot water with his eyes closed and got under the scaldingly hot water with a sigh. He wasn't sure how long he'd stayed under it but he felt better when he finally stepped out. 76 grabbed a pair of pants and a hoodie and got dressed as he headed to the kitchen.

 

In the kitchen awaited him the smell of heated up rations already distributed onto two plates. Rein... or rather Guardian was now busy trying to make some coffee. The machine hadn't been used in ages, but still worked quite well and soon, was pouring the delicious black liquid into a cup he slipped under the stream. He carried it to the table and placed next to one of the plates.  
  
"Come, dig in..." Guardian nodded.

 

76 zipped the hoodie up and grabbed the mug of coffee as he sat. He nodded and started eating, alternating forkfuls of food and sips from the mug.

Guardian nodded a little bit and sat down to eat as well. This time, he was eating properly and he really seemed to come around. He wasn't as pale as before. "...I will check the lower levels, see if there are any vehicles left..."

76 shrugged and kept eating. "Okay."

 

"Do you want to find the gym here?" the guardian inquired quietly.

76 hummed as he finished his plate swiftly. "I'll see if they had a shooting range."

"That's a good idea." Guardian nodded slightly and finally finished as well. He took the plates and carried them to the sink to wash them.

 

76 nodded and finished the coffee too. It tasted too plain but it was still good. He moved to set the mug next to the sink and left to go back to ~~'Reyes' 's room~~ their?, his?, Guardian's? room to get his rifle and started searching for the shooting range.

Guardian finished washing up and dried his hands and went on a quest to find the garages. He managed to find something like that. And he was even more lucky to find there working snowmobiles, cars and even a little bit damaged helicarrier for less than 5 people. A nice find.

 

76 had some trouble finding the shooting range, at least until he let his legs carry him there. It was weird to move with a destination but no real knowledge of the corridors and hallways. The light turned on when he entered. It looked good and large. The AI greeted him and started a simulation with bots. 'His usual one', it said. He grinned like a shark and plowed through the waves of enemies, mind blank but satisfaction settling in his bones.

 

As 76 was fighting though his obstacle course, Guardian was checking the machines. For some reason he knew how to operate that helicarrier, although all he could remember consciously learning to drive were ... well.. nothing. Not even a car or a bike. He never thought about it really. Sitting on the pilot's seat he found a little compartment under the wheel. He opened it and found some notes. For some reason he felt like he knew that handwriting. Little kid played tic-tac-toe on the side with someone... some notes about a mission. Some smiley faces around those notes and blunt capital letters stating 'stop scribbling on my notes - G.R' .

 

76 finished the simulation easily, setting a record or something. He shrugged and asked if there were other simulations available. The AI told him that there were 6 other simulations still available in this base. It, she could have downloaded more but she wasn't currently connected to the main network. He nodded and told her to start another. It was a sniper one. He felt great.

 

Guardian skipped around the notes and found some dicks, of course, some drawings of planes with little stars around them. It felt sort of... familiar to hold that notebook. Still, he placed it back in the compartment and sighed quietly. If everything goes down, they’d still have this thing. He only had to fix it a little bit. So... he started to work.  
  
When he was done and got really hungry again, he went back up to the kitchen, covered in splotches of grease and motor oil. He washed his hands and started preparing food in hopes that 76 was around somewhere. He tried something else though... he called to AI and ordered her to find and call "Jack".

 

76 had apparently set new records to all simulations except the survival one, which he hadn't had time to start yet when the AI called him, saying that 'Reinhardt' was calling him to the kitchen. He nodded and rolled his eyes at the screen that proudly claimed that 'Jack Morrison' had set new highscores. Whatever. He headed to the kitchen, rifle slung on his back, feeling back to his usual self.

 

There was food already waiting for him. And a slightly dirty Guardian "Time for dinner..." the big man announced as he sat to the table "And I can see you have found the right place?"

 

76 smelled of ozone and gunpowder and had a slightly blissed expression on his face. "Yeah. New simulations. Actual self repairing bots. Self adjusting levels of difficulty." He sighed dreamily and fell into a chair, then blinked. "Found something nice?"

"Helicarrier and some working vehicles. This place was left in case someone came back, I'm sure of it..." he nodded slowly and looked up at 76 "And yeah.. you found your little paradise, I can see that..."

"Nice." 76 shrugged helplessly and smiled, amused. "You know me. I'm all kill. And I got a lot of it." His smile widened to something predatory for a second before vanishing. "Think the new Overwatch could be coming here?"

 

"No.. I don't think so. This place is off radar.." Guardian nodded slightly, not even slightly worried by the wide grin on 76's face. For him it was a daily sight.

76 started eating. He hummed and shrugged. His guardian seemed better. Good.

"... How are you feeling?" Guardian inquired quietly, as he was finishing up his meal.

"I'm fine." His partner answered between two bites. He then finished his plate swiftly and once it was empty, leaned backward and stretched. He handed his plate to Guardian and went to make some coffee.

 

Guardian nodded slightly. "This is good. I think we've survived the initial shock of adapting to a new place. From now on it should be better..." he said quietly as he started washing the dishes.

76 wasn't sure if it was the shock of adapting to a place or the shock of being into a place their past selves had haunted. A far as he could remember, he'd only ever lived in Talon bases anyway. He focused on getting coffee and once he had a mug (that had a comically grumpy looking cat on it) he started searching for something to put in it. Were those- He grinned savagely and filled his mug with little colorful balls of sugar. Hehe, so great.

 

"Huh? What the hell did you put in your mug?" Guardian asked quietly, as he noticed something colourful sticking out of the mug. "That reminds me... I should try going to a shop... to buy some fresh things ... but I don't know if it would be safe.."

76 hummed, looking as the little balls swirled and melted one after another. He shrugged. "Might be a better idea if I went. I'm less-" he waved his mug up and down at Guardian's giant and muscular form "-remarkable." 76 then took a sip of his coffee that now tasted like fruits and bubble gum and groaned in delight.

"Remarkable?" The guardian gave him a quizzical look and then smirked a little bit, brushing his fingers over his majestic, yet untamed beard "Is that a compliment, or should I be offended?"

 

76 snorted around a mouthful of coffee and waved dismissively. "Just saying I'm used to infiltration and you're the ... tank that charges in when there's no need for subtlety." He would need some clothes if he had to go and blend with the locals. And something to protect him from the cold. He moved to the door and stopped, an amused smirk quirking his lips. "But yeah, I guess that was a compliment." 76 headed back to 'Reyes' room, to get some clothes and asked the AI where (if) he could find some warmer clothing, like jackets or something.

Guardian shook his head slightly and rolled his eyes. This place was making them both weird... but it was safe. That was all he cared for now. He moved to check few last things in the kitchen and then moved to look for some kind of a gym or something similar where he could take his mind off things.

  
76 had easily found the room full of warm clothing that Athena had directed him to. (She had insisted he'd call her that but kept calling him sir and commander). He headed to the garage, still following the AI's instructions.   
  
It's only as he sat behind the wheel that he realized he had absolutely no idea on how to drive.

 


	10. In which there's a shopping trip and broken noses (but no-one saw anything so shush)

Uh. 76 put his hands on the wheel anyway, sometimes his body knew but it took some time for the knowledge to kick in. But no. Still nothing. 76 asked Athena to contact 'Reinhardt' and tell him to pick something warm and join him in the garage. As she did so, he looked at the passenger seat and sat there. It felt weird sitting in the driver's spot.

 

Guardian came after few longer moments, putting on a massive cammo jacket he found. He looked around the garage and smiled slightly when he spotted 76. "Well... it seems we're still going together? What happened exactly?" he inquired, as he sat in the driver's seat and fiddled with the keys for a moment.

 

76 huffed and crossed his arms on his chest, looking outside, clearly angry. "I can't drive." He spat out. Reaching the edges of the knowledge he didn't know he had frustrated him and made him angry at himself. He clicked his seat-belt on but refused to even look at Guardian, his whole body tense and coiled.

 

".. Come on. Stop it." Guardian sighed quietly and moved his big hand to grab 76's palm and squeezed it gently "I don't recall anything about codes in this place. Nor can I remember to pilot a mech that stands deeper in the garage..."

 

76 blinked at Guardian's hand grabbing his own. It was weird. But it felt nice. He decided to ignore it, but left his hand in his partner's. For now. 76 looked outside and huffed. He stayed silent for a long time before grumbling. "I don't like how I feel in that place. I feel … different. And I don't like it."

 

"You're not the only one... believe me." Guardian murmured after a short pause and squeezed his hand a little bit tighter. "I don't really... want to think about it to be honest, but every corner is just... fucking up with my brain... and I don't remember much..."

 

76 said nothing but he let his hand rest in his guardian's grip for a just a bit longer before he pulled it back into his lap. He curled on himself and huffed. "Let's go." They needed food and he really didn't want to have to learn how to drive because Guardian was in the middle of a mental breakdown, or whatever it was that had happened the day before. "I'll... tell you about the shooting range on the way. It's great."

 

"Please do.. this is good..." Guardian reached to turn the key and start the engine, but was quite surprised when along with it, the radio started. For a moment he just sat there, blinking few times in surprise. The song from the radio was awfully familiar and in a way resonated with him. He rested his hands on the wheel, slowly getting them out of the parking lot while still very much focused on the song. It was something older... that was for sure. It was slower and somehow the rhythm was just right.   
  
"Huh..." the guitar was there, a deep voice... he never would suspect to even like the sound of guitar, but suddenly he found himself just... knowing the lyrics. "I've got fire in my soul...rise up, ting ting, like glitter..." he frowned at himself murmuring the words. What was that? He didn't listen to any music when they were in Talon. Heck, most of the cars he drove didn't even have a radio... so how? When? He glanced quickly to 76, but was sure he wouldn't find any answers there. And still... the song was nice. It had no memories behind it, but he still knew it.

 

He gave Guardian a slightly confused look as he started singing along with the song on the radio. 76 didn't know the song but apparently his partner did. He looked just as confused about it as 76 felt though, brows furrowed and a question in his tone as he sang. Then the song was over and after a moment of silence, during which the radio host proclaimed something in finnish, 76 started explaining the ins and outs of the shooting range, taking both their minds off the weird echoes they kept coming across. He was almost relaxed when they finally came into view of the small town they were gonna restock in.

 

Guardian huffed quietly when he noticed how small the town was "This is good... the smaller, the better..." he nodded and slowly parked the car near the main road to the city. "Hm... the only problem is that we don't really speak.. Finnish... do you? Because I don't... I'm pretty sure of it..." the rested his elbows on the wheel and thought for a moment. "Tourists are probably appearing here as rarely as a good weather..."

 

76 uncurled and zipped his hoodie up. "I think I do?" He shook his head, shrugging as he opened the car door and stepped out. "I speak so many languages, who knows."  _ I should know _ But he didn't. And that was how things were. He grabbed the little plastic rectangle Athena had given him when he'd wondered about money. "Stay here, it shouldn't take long." And with that, he headed toward the town, the hood of his jacket covering his hair. The jacket was a greyish green that he vaguely remembered seeing somewhere before but he had shrugged the thought away, as usual.   
  
The town was small, two main streets that connected  into a crossroads. A few shops, a bar, a giant parking lot that was filled with trucks, something that looked like a drive-in. Thankfully, the grocery shop was on the outside of the town. He noticed a SUV that looked completely out of place and filled the info for later. Food. He was here to buy food. The door jingled as he entered and he smiled sweetly at the cashier (who blushed and straightened in her seat) and he headed toward the back of the shop, giving her some time to forget him and focus on the other clients (an old lady, a couple with children and a younger woman) Food. Okay but what food? He had no idea of what he was actually supposed to buy. 76 huffed. He should probably buy things they could keep for long periods, cans and those little bags that claimed they'd turned into delicious noodles with only added water. He rolled his eyes. As if.

 

"Excuse me, do you know-" As he turned toward the voice, the person who had been speaking to him stuttered, voice trailing off. Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped as she looked at him. Shit. She knew him. He observed her and weighed what to do next. "Yes?" He raised a brow, face innocently curious. She moved forward. "Uncle Ja-" He had a hand to her throat before she could finish but the memory clawed itself out of his brain anyway.   
  
_ "Uncle Jack!" "Fareeha!" A woman's voice. "Just let her be, she'll be okay" A rumble, close, too close for comfort, but he didn't feel uncomfortable and there was a warm laugh on his lips as he added- _ The memory left him shaky but his grip on the woman had not faltered.

Her skin was tanned in a way that spoke of genetics instead of sunbathing and she had a tattoo under her right eye.  _ Just like that woman in the file that had left Guardian unresponsive _  Her hands had moved up to grip his arm, her gaze filled with fear and something else, concerned and worried  _ for him _ . The thought almost had him laugh. 

  
76 kept his voice low. "Make any noise and I'll kill everyone in the shop. Do you understand?" Her jaw tensed but she gave a small nod. "Good girl." He didn't expect the way her eyes widened again. Obviously, the words had more effect than he had expected. He slowly moved his grip to cup the back of her head and she seemed nervous again. She was intelligent. He smiled reassuringly and when she relaxed under his hand, headbutted her, probably breaking her nose in the process. Guess food was out of the picture for now.   
  
76 grabbed the young lady, pulling her into a bridal hold and headed back to the front of the shop, worry and panic etched on his face. He spinned a story of how she'd collapsed onto him, obviously she wasn't okay, look at all that blood, he needed to get her to a hospital, where was the nearest one, his car was just outside, no he didn't need a ride, he'd be okay. The cashier had no idea how to react and she let him go, clearly relieved that he was taking charge. People. He was a stranger abducting another stranger and no-one was batting an eyelash. Seriously. People.   
  
He made his way back to the car, gave Guardian a pissed 'Don't ask' and checked her for trackers rapidly. He found two, military grade. Who was she? Didn't matter. She knew him and that was a problem. He sat in the back to keep an eye on her, even though she was clearly too dazed to do much right now. "Go." He gritted through clenched teeth.

 


End file.
